


Broken Mold

by flawedluna



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Exes, Exes to Lovers, Famous Harry Styles, M/M, Non-Famous Louis Tomlinson, famous/non-famous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:55:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26015368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flawedluna/pseuds/flawedluna
Summary: When Harry's husband cheats, Harry goes to a law firm in search of a lawyer.He does not realize, however, that a person assigned to his case would be a person he hoped never to see again.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Comments: 65
Kudos: 262





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Polski available: [Broken Mold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29221461) by [Hazzaczuwa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazzaczuwa/pseuds/Hazzaczuwa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hand, hands getting cold  
> Losing feeling is getting old  
> Was I made from a broken mold?  
> Hurt, I can't shake  
> We've made every mistake  
> Only you know the way that I break
> 
> Billie Eilish - idontwannabeyouanymore

That’s not the way it was supposed to be. He and his husband were supposed to adopt a child after a year of being married to each other. They were supposed to buy a bigger house with a big backyard somewhere in the suburbs of Los Angeles. But maybe it was only Harry’s dream? Maybe he was so excited about having a big family, that he hadn’t noticed his husband cheating on him.

The worst part is that his supposed friends had known for a while, but still wouldn't think of telling him. How fucked up is that? But Harry had to learn about it the hard way. He had walked in on them when he had come back home two hours earlier. They had been fucking in their bed.

Harry felt dirty and disgusted. He felt numb and the only thing that he could think of in that situation is to get the fuck out of that house. He had run out of the house, followed by his husband who was apologizing and crying but Harry did not stop. He started his car and drove away.

He was driving around when he decided that leaving the house was not enough. He had to go where no one would find him. That's why he drove to the LAX airport and bought a first available ticket home.

To London.

***

There he was standing in front of the tall building in the heart of London. He spent a few days with his mom and Gemma and he decided that he's not capable of forgiving the cheater. He wanted a divorce.  
Harry entered the building and headed towards the elevators. While waiting for the doors to open he looked around. The place was filled with businessmen walking in a hurry. Some of them were frantically writing on their phones, others were holding a lot of files.

It was not his world. He never wanted to work in an office. He was lucky that he had an opportunity to become a singer. He loved that. Traveling all around the world, making music. Seeing the support from his fans. It was all great. But that's where his luck ended.

He had a hard time finding a proper partner. And when he thought he finally found the right guy, said guy cheated on him.

When the door opened, he entered the elevator and pressed the 10th floor. When the doors opened for the second time, he approached the huge desk in the center of the room.

“Hello. I'm Harry Styles. I'm here to see Mr. Banner,” Harry smiled to the lady sitting behind the desk.

The girl looked up at him and he could see the flicker of recognition in her eyes. “One moment, Mr. Styles. I'll let Mr. banner know that you're here.” She smiled politely and dialed her boss. “You can wait over there,” she pointed at the couches on the right side of the room.

Harry approached them and sat down. He unlocked his phone and scrolled through the messages from his husband. Bob wrote to him at least thirty messages saying that he was really sorry and begging him to come home or at least pick up the phone.

Harry knew he couldn’t do any of that. He might have ended up forgiving him, and that’s not what he wanted to do. Not know at least. He couldn’t be in a relationship where one cheats. He would never trust Bob again and what was a relationship without trust?

“Mr. Styles. Welcome to the Clifford Change.” Harry saw a bald man walking towards him and he got up „Let’s go to my office and then we’ll be able to talk, shall we?”

“Good morning, Mr. Banner.” Harry said, shaking man’s hand. After that they went through the maze of the corridors until they stood in front of a huge mahogany double doors. Mr. Banner opened the doors and let Harry through. They sat in front of each other on both sides of a huge desk.

“What can I do for you?” the elder man asked.

“I want to get divorced. But I need it done as quickly as you can. My father’s friend told me your company was the best in London.”

“That’s really nice to hear. We value our clients’ reviews.” He smiled and continued, “of course we will be able to help you get it done as fast as possible. We’ll be able to keep it from the press for as long as we can too.”

“That would be really appreciated.” Harry sighed, “I know I can’t keep it secret forever but at least till it’s finalized.”

“Of course. That will be our priority. Will this be handled locally?”

“My husband lives in Los Angeles. I don’t know what the procedure in this situation is. I never knew I would go through this, to be honest.”

“Nobody can predict that Mr. Styles, that’s not why we get married in the first place.” He said with compassion. “There might be a possibility that a trip to Los Angeles will be needed if the other spouse won’t cooperate.”

“I’m afraid that might be the case.” Harry sighed. He predicted that it wouldn't be easy.

“I’ve got a perfect attorney for this case. He won’t mind traveling, and he’s really good at what he’s doing. Shall we go to him now? Then he’ll explain everything to you.”

“That would be great.” They got up and left the room. Harry followed the man through the corridors to the door that Harry presumed led to his new attorney’s office.

“Tomlinson, I’ve got an important case for you. It has to be done as quickly as possible, so the press won’t know anything,” The man said as he went through the door.

Wait. Had Harry heard that right? Tomlinson? But it couldn’t be… could it? He entered the office and his heart sank when he saw the man sitting behind the desk. He had his head turned towards some papers lying on his desk, but he would recognize this man anywhere.

In front of him sat Louis. Louis Tomlinson. His ex-boyfriend. His first true love. The men that broke his heart so many years ago. But it still hurt.

Harry watched Louis turn his attention towards his boss and then his eyes met Harry’s. He seemed as shocked as Harry. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to tell something, but no words could leave his mouth.

“I’m leaving you two now. You’re in good hands, Mr. Styles.” He smiled at Harry and left the office.  
There was an awkward silence in the room. The two men were staring at each other and neither knew what to say.

“Um... Hi,” Harry broke the silence.

“Ha... Harry” Louis stuttered. “Sit down, please.” He pointed towards the chair opposite his. “Do you want anything to drink?” Louis seemed to abandon his shocked state.

“No, thank you.” Harry sat down. “Divorce attorney, huh? That’s the last job I would imagine you’d get.”

“Yeah, well... A lot has changed in my life after, you know...”

“You broke up with me?” Harry offered.

“Yeah, that and many other things, I guess.” Louis fidgeted in his seat. “Wouldn’t imagine seeing you here in the first place.” He kept his eyes on Harry’s. Harry could see the curiosity in those blue orbs he used to adore so much. “Thought you were living in LA now.”

“I am. Or I was. I needed to get away from there as soon as possible.”

“Still running from your problems, are you?” How dare he imply anything? That hurt coming from Louis. Maybe he had run away after Louis broke up with him, but that’s not his business anymore.

“I don’t think that you have any say in what and how I handle my business anymore, Louis,” Harry said sternly. “It’s not like I broke up with you and then left you without any explanation. I’m not the bad one here.” Harry was angry and Louis could see that.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. You’re here to talk business.” Louis’ face was unreadable now. “You need to tell me everything important if we want to get this done. Forgive me for my unprofessional behavior.”

That was not Louis Harry remembered. His Louis would snicker at him or tease him or say anything that came to his mind. He wouldn’t put on a mask and became all professional. Harry didn’t know new Louis. He felt sad, that he didn’t know him anymore.

They haven’t seen each other in 10 years. And it was partly Harry’s fault that he never kept in touch with any of his childhood friends. Because before being boyfriends, they had been best friends since kindergarten. He knew Louis like no one else. But know he didn’t know anything about him.

“Harry?” Harry snapped from his thoughts and looked at Louis. “Can we get to the point? Or maybe you want someone else to run this case?” Louis asked. He looked a bit uneasy.

“No, that’s okay. I trust you,” Harry said without thinking. When he saw astounded Louis he added, „to get this done, of course.” Harry tried to put on the stern face, but he was never good at hiding his feelings. Louis would always say that he could read Harry like an open book. Harry wondered if that was still the case, but he presumed it was as Louis didn’t seem convinced. But he let that slip.

“Okay then. Tell me everything I need to know.” Louis looked expectantly at the boy in front of him. Harry could see sparkles of curiosity in his eyes.

“Okay then. Basically, he cheated on me.” Harry averted his eyes in shame. “I found him a couple of days ago in our bed with some other guy. That’s the short version.”

“Did you try to talk to him since?” Louis asked concerned. He seemed almost... angry? Harry couldn’t tell for sure.

“Um, no. He’s trying to contact me all the time, but I won’t answer. He is still in LA, I guess. I don’t think he’ll come here after me.” Harry started playing with the rings on his hand. He still wore the wedding band. He got so accustomed to wearing it that it didn’t even cross his mind to take it off.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” Louis asked calmly. “It can’t be undone. Have you thought it through?”

“Yes, I have.” Harry looked him in the eyes. „You know I am a forgiving type, but not when it comes to cheating. I have no idea how long he’s been having an affair. I don’t think I want to know.” Harry’s voice cracked, but he didn’t let himself break down in front of Louis.

“Okay. I just had to make sure,” Louis says. “First of all, we’re going to start writing the divorce petition. Here,” Louis handed Harry a stack of papers, “you need to fill this. You have to choose the court either here or in Los Angeles. You should also include all the properties that you own.” Louis explained.

Harry took the papers and skimmed through them. He had never thought, he would have to do this. File for a divorce. There was no other way, though. Harry was sure, that it was the right thing to do.

“The petition must be served on the other spouse. This phase is called ‘service of process’,” Louis continued. “If both spouses agree to the divorce, the other spouse only needs to sign an acknowledgment of the receipt of service.”

“What if the other spouse won’t agree?” Harry hesitated. He looked up to see the piercing blue orbs.

“If the other spouse refuses to sign or is difficult to find, we will hire a professional process server to personally deliver the papers.” Harry nodded and looked down at the papers again. He wanted to hide somewhere he wouldn’t have to deal with all this mess. But he couldn’t run forever. The sooner it would be done, the better.

“Completing this phase starts the clock running on your state’s waiting period. It also sets automatic restraining orders on the spouses and helps set-up the date of separation. At this point, the spouses are not permitted to sell any property, borrow against property, or borrow or sell insurance held for the other spouse.” Harry nodded again in acknowledgment. It was a lot to take in all at once.

“Is that it?” Harry asked, raising his head to look at Louis.

“The final step is for both spouses to disclose information regarding their assets, liabilities, income and expenses,” Louis answered. “If the divorce is uncontested and the spouses can agree on the terms of the divorce, there is only a bit more paperwork to file. Once the court enters the judgment, the divorce is final. However, the marriage is not formally dissolved, and the spouses cannot remarry until the end of the state's waiting period.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever marry again so no problem with that,” Harry snorted. “What if there will by a dispute?”

“If there are disputes that cannot be resolved, court hearings and maybe even a trial will be required. But let’s hope that won’t be necessary.” Louis offered Harry an affiliative smile.

“Let’s hope not.” Harry agreed. He tried to process everything Louis told him in the last hour until he heard the door opening. His head automatically turned towards the noise.

“Hey, babe you weren’t… Oh, you’re busy. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.” The tall blonde man stood in the door with an apologetic smile.

“No, it’s alright. We were actually done for today.” Louis got up and approached him.

“Who are you?” Harry snapped.

“Um, this is my boyfriend Chad,” Louis started hesitantly. “Chad, this is Harry. We used to… be friends in high school.” Harry found this situation extremely awkward.

“You’re Harry Styles, right?” Chad said as he held out his hand for Harry to shake. “You must be the Harry I’ve heard the boys mention from time to time.” Harry got up and shook his hand. “I had no idea they were talking about the Harry Styles.” He turned to Louis and said, “you never mentioned you were friends with celebrities.”

Louis flinched at the dreaded word. He knew Harry hated to be called that. “Yeah, well, we haven’t been friends for a really long time, to be honest,” he sighed.

“Boys?” Harry frowned.

“What?” Chad seemed confused.

“You said that the boys mentioned me before.” Harry added.

“Oh yeah, right. I meant Zayn, Liam and Niall of course.” He smiled at Harry. “They talked about you, didn’t they? Or was there other Harry?”

“Um, no. I guess it was me. I just…” Harry seemed out of place. He was speechless. “I didn’t know the four of you still hung out together,” Harry’s eyes landed on Louis. This was extremely awkward for him too.

“They do!” Chad exclaimed. “Isn’t that great? After all those years. Who would have thought?” Chad shook his head in amazement. “But now it’s five of us now.”

“Of course, it is.” Harry’s eyes never left Louis who looked anywhere but at Harry.

“Chad, could you please give us ten minutes? I need to finish this meeting with Harry, and I’ll be down with you.” Louis smiled at the blonde man.

“Sure, babe. I’ll be waiting in the car.” He gave Lou a kiss and turned to Harry, “it was really nice talking to you, Harry.”

“Pleasure is all mine,” Harry said with a fake smile.  
Chad was opening his door when he suddenly turned towards the boys. “You know what? I have a great idea. We are meeting the boys tomorrow in the pub in the afternoon. You should totally come along. They would love to see you again, won’t they Lou?”

“I guess so,” he said unconvinced.

“Totally!” Chad exclaimed. “See you tomorrow then Harry!” he said and left the room. There was a pregnant silence in the room. Neither knew what to say to make it more comfortable.

“That was the most awkward encounter I had in years.” Harry snorted.

“Oh my god, it was, wasn’t it?” Louis sighed. “I’m sorry about that.”

“What for?” Harry asked. “It’s not your fault. It was bound to happen one day, I guess.”

“Yeah. Okay, I don’t want to keep you any longer here, so please come around the office on Monday with filled papers and we’ll begin the whole procedure, okay?” Louis stepped behind his desk and started to gather his things.”

“I will,” Harry stated and approached the door.

“Harry.” Harry turned around to see Louis looking at him expectantly. “You should come tomorrow,” He said after a pause, “the boys would like that. They missed you, you know?”

Harry missed the boys too. He missed his friends. They had a really amazing time together. They were young and stupid. But he could always count on them in any situation. Not like with the so-called friends in LA.

“I missed you,” Louis added quietly. Harry almost thought he misheard him.

Harry didn’t know what to say. He had too much stuff on his head and now this. He didn’t know how much he wanted to hear those words. He would give everything to hear them so many years ago. But what did those words mean to him now? He had no idea. He was really confused.

“Just think about it, okay?” Louis continued. “Here,” he extended his hard with a business card. “Here you’ve got my number. Just call if you made your mind. Or if you have any more questions.” He smiled sadly at Harry.

“Okay.” Harry stuttered. He didn’t know what to add, so they said their goodbyes and Harry left the office.


	2. Chapter 2

Louis' pov

“Fuck.” Louis muttered and buried his face in his hands. Not only was Harry back in his life after ten years, but he had to help him with a divorce. And on top of that, he asked him to go out with the rest of the boys out. That was a really bad idea.

He got up, gathered his things, and left his office. Chad must had been waiting for more than 10 minutes already. He found his boyfriend sitting in the car talking to someone on the phone. When Louis got into the car, Chad finished his conversation.

“Hey babe, I know we were supposed to go eat out tonight, but my mom called me and asked me to help her with some stuff tonight. Do you mind?” He asked as he started the engine.

“Not at all. That’s fine.” Louis smiled reassuringly. “We’ll go some other time.”

“You can go with me if you want,” Chad said and looked at Louis.

“Nah, I think I’ll stay. I’ll let you have some time together. We see each other every day. I think I can do one night without you.” Louis smirked at him and put a hand on his knee.

“Oh, can you now? That’s not what you told me yesterday.” Chad laughed

“Shush you. Why am I even putting up with you? That’s beyond me,” Louis fake pouted.

“Because you love me,” Chad took Louis’ hand and kissed his knuckles.

“I still don’t know why, but I do,” Louis answered.

He really loved Chad. They were together for more than two years now. They were bantering all the time and they had the same sense of humour. And boys loved Chad too. As a friend of course. Not romantically.

After breaking up with Harry, everything seemed to fall apart. Louis was supposed to become a professional football player, but after a knee contusion, he had to find something else to do. That’s how he ended up going to law uni. It was really hard with money and with everything, but he was holding on.

And then his mom died. Losing your parent is the worst thing that could have happened to you. Especially if you had an amazing relationship with your mom as Louis did. It almost broke him completely, but he had to be strong for his siblings. But it doesn’t mean he hadn’t spent many nights crying himself to sleep. He had. But the boys were there for him. Zayn, Liam, and Niall. He could always count on them, and he didn’t know what he would have done if he didn’t have such great friends.

But he was lonely. He missed having someone who would hold him when he slept. Who would love him. Kiss him. Cuddle in front of sappy romantic comedies.

After he had lost his sister, he ended up in a really dark place. He would go out every night and drank a lot of alcohol just to forget. That’s how he met Chad. During one of those nights in the pub. They sat and talked. And Louis told him about his mom and Fizzy and then cried a bit. And Chad listened to him and comforted him afterward. He got Louis out of the gutter.

They were friends for a while but then they started going on dates. And here they are now. Louis was really thankful for the day Chad approached him. He owed him a lot. And he loved him. He was finally happy after so many years.

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning, okay?” Chad said as he stopped the car in front of their home.

“I’ll miss you, babe. Give your mom a kiss from me.” Louis said as he leaned forward and kissed Chad. “Call me when you’ll be there, kay? And drive safely.”

“Jeez, hun. I’m okay with having one mom, thanks.” He shook his head with fake exasperation. “I’ll be fine. Now go.” He blew Louis a kiss as Louis got out of the car.

Louis waited as the car disappeared at the end on the street and then turned to enter their home. Once inside, he took off his shoes and walked towards the big couch. He laid down and sighed. He stayed there for some time before he took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number he knew by heart after so many years.

“Hello?” He heard a voice in the speaker say.

“Hey, Zayn. Are you busy?”

“Hey, Lou. Nah, I’m free. What’s up?”

“Could we meet somewhere for dinner today? I was supposed to go out with Chad, but he had to his mom’s. And I really need to talk to someone.”

“Yeah sure. Are you okay?” Zayn’s voice sounded concerned.

“I’ll tell you later okay?” Louis sighed. “Same place as always in an hour?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Great. See you there.” He said and ended the call. He always could count on Zayn. And Zayn was a great listener and gave the best advices.

Louis went upstairs to take a shower and change his work clothes.

***

An hour later Louis was sitting in his favourite Italian restaurant. They had the best pizza in the whole of London and the pasta amazing. He sat down in a booth and waited for his friend. Zayn came ten minutes later.

“Hey man,” he greeted Louis as he sat in front of him. “You look stressed. Shouldn’t work so much, you know?”

“Good to see you too, Zaynie,” Louis said with a smirk.

“So, what’s up? You sounded uneasy over the phone.” He took the menu and looked at the meals. Louis was sure Zayn had already known the menu by heart. It was their spot for about 8 years now and they would only choose something else when going out with the others.

“So…” Louis didn’t know how to start. “Harry’s back in town.” That attracted Zayn’s attention. He closed the menu and looked straight into Louis’ eyes.

“What? Have you seen him?” he sounded concerned. They haven’t talked about Harry for a long time now.

“Yeah, you see. It’s a really funny story.” Louis fake laughed. “I was sitting today in my office as always, and then I hear someone coming in. It was my boss. And right behind him stood Harry. I’m going to be his attorney for a time being.”

“What do you mean by his attorney? You deal with the divorces.” Zayn didn’t seem to catch on quickly enough.

“Yeah, really funny, innit?” Louis scowled as he looked away from Zayn’s piercing brown eyes.

“Hello gentlemen, can I get your order?” They both looked at the woman that stood next to their booth.

“Yes, love.” Louis started, “I’d like some lasagne with a glass of water, please.” He smiled at her and she turned her attention to Zayn.

“Same for me.”

“Of course. I’ll be back with your drinks in a moment. Lasagne will be ready in more or less 40 minutes.

“Thank you, love.” Louis looked at Zayn who was still staring at him intently. They waited until she came back with their water until resuming their conversation.

“Is he getting divorced?” Zayn insisted.

“Well that would explain me being his attorney, wouldn’t it?” Louis said sassily.

“Stop with the bullshit, Lou.” Zayn snapped. “It’s not the time for you to hide behind your sassy comebacks.”

Louis sighed and looked Zayn straight in the eyes. “That’s not even the worst part.” Zayn waited for him to continue. “Chad came to get me from work and they both met. To say it was awkward is an understatement.”

“Did you tell Chad, he’s your ex?”

“No, I didn’t. I told him we used to be friends in high school.” Louis fidgeted in his seat. “He remembered one of you talking about Harry some time ago and he invited Harry to meet with us tomorrow.”

“How do you feel about it?” Louis couldn’t read Zayn’s emotions. His face was stoic as always.

“About what exactly?” Louis scowled. “Seeing Harry after 10 years, working for him, him meeting my boyfriend or my boyfriend inviting him to meet all of us tomorrow?”

“About all of the things,” Zayn answered.

“I…” Louis began. “I have no idea.” He shrugged and looked down at his hands. “When I saw him today at the office, I was dumbstruck. He was the last person I would imagine walking through that door. And then he told me about his husband cheating on him and I saw red. I don’t know why… I just. You know Harry. He’s so trustworthy and I hate that somebody broke his heart like that,” There was a short pause after he added, “again.”

“I’ve come across some pictures of them on the sites. He didn’t look as if his intentions were in the right place, to be honest.” Zayn shook his head. “But you can’t blame yourself for everything, Lou. People break up, and it’s a normal thing. But cheating is a different story.”

“Yeah, I know. I just… I wanted to fly to LA to find that scum and tell him what I think of him. It’s not normal. I haven’t seen Harry in so many years, yet I still seem to care about him.” Louis’ voice threatened to break.

“Lou, look at me, please,” Zayn said as he placed his hand on both Louis’ hands. “Harry was your first love, and he was everything for you. You can’t expect your heart to totally forget everything that you had in common. You have to realise, that you still might have feelings for him, that you buried deep down so many years ago. But now that you’ve seen him it’s all starting to come back to you know.” Zayn squeezed his hand and added, “It’s totally normal, but it’s up to you, how will you deal with this situation.”

“I won’t do anything, Zayn. I’m in love with Chad.”

“I’m not telling you to break up with him, Lou. I know you love him. And he loves you very much too. All I’m saying is that maybe it’s time for you and Harry to forgive each other and then maybe you could build back your friendship. Baby steps, you know?” Zayn sent Louis a comforting smile.

“Are you saying that you are fed up with me being your best friend and want a way out?” Louis joked.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. To be honest I’m tired of all your drama.” Zayn chuckled. “But seriously,” his face was once again serious, “Just think about that, okay? I’m not telling you to do anything. I’ll be always by your side no matter what you decide.”

“Oh Zaynie, you’ll make me cry,” Louis smirked. He felt better after talking to Zayn and hearing what the other had to say. Maybe it was not that bad of an idea. They had used to be great friends before they were boyfriends. Maybe they could bury the hatchet and be civil to each other. Spend time together in a group.

“After Chad left, I told Harry that it would be nice if he would show up tomorrow. I told him that you guys missed him. And that I missed him too,” Louis said with a sigh. “I shouldn’t have said that I know. But I think I’d like to have him back. As a friend. The five of us were having so much fun, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, we did,” Zayn nodded. “I’m glad you told him that. I hope he’ll come. I kinda miss his pretty face and his bad jokes.” Zayn laughed.

“His jokes were so bad,” Louis groaned.

“Are you going to tell Chad about you two?” Zayn questioned.

“I don’t know, Zayn,” he frowned. “Should I?”

“I think you know the answer to this question,” Zayn replied.

That’s when the waitress came with their order. “Here you go,” she said as she placed plates in front of them. “Enjoy.” They thanked her and began eating. The meals looked amazing and they smelled even better.

“Where’s Liam?” Louis tried to change the subject. He was already tired of his problems so he might as well get his mind off things for a while.

“He’s at the hospital. Will end his shift in an hour though.” Zayn said. He and Liam were in a relationship for around 8 years. They had girlfriends while Harry was still around but then Louis told Zayn to stop lying to himself. Zayn was looking at Liam with heart eyes every time they went out. He hated how miserable Zayn was.

Zayn confessed to Liam and they agreed to try dating for a while. If it wouldn’t click, then they would go back to being friends. But it clicked right away. They were disgusting at the beginning of their relationship. They would kiss all the time and hug and all the things that couples do. But Louis was happy for them. Even though it reminded him that he used to be like that with Harry all the time, and at that moment he was alone.

They talked about their families and some unimportant staff during the rest of the meal. They paid for the meals and left the restaurant. When they were about to go their separate ways Zayn stopped and looked at Louis with a glint in his eyes.

“Have you by any chance ever listened to Harry’s albums?” Zayn inquired.

“No, I don’t think so.” Louis looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I think, I’ve heard him once or twice on the radio, though. Why?”

“I think you should.” Zayn smiled at him and turned around and started walking away. “See you tomorrow, Boobear.”

“Bye Zaynie,” Lou answered and went to his car. He never really thought about listening to Harry’s songs. He knew curly was good at what he was doing. He saw his name on the charts and heard his name on the radio. He also heard that he played in a movie. But maybe Zayn was right. Maybe he should listen to it to get some insight.

***

It was still quite early, so he drove to the nearest vinyl store. He loved listening to vinyls. He had a huge collection at his home. But mainly he owned old albums, like the Beatles, Oasis, Queen. He also owned Arctic Monkeys vinyl which was his favourite.

Louis entered the store and searched regals until he found two albums. The first one was a self-titled Harry Styles album. The cover showed Harry’s back. He was sitting in some kind of pink water. Louis wasn’t sure. The other album was called Fine Line. It was from last year. Harry on the cover wore white pants and a pink shirt. He was standing weirdly. Louis paid for the two albums and drove back home.

He got changed into his favourite tracksuits and typical plain white shirt and went downstairs to play the first album. He put the vinyl in the gramophone and placed a needle on the vinyl. He heard soft guitar strumming. He went to the kitchen to get some beer from the fridge. He couldn’t do this without the booze. He couldn’t exactly hear the lyrics until he went back to the living room and sat down on his couch.

Just let me know I'll be at the door, at the door

Hoping you'll come around

Just let me know I'll be on the floor, on the floor

Maybe we'll work it out

I gotta get better, gotta get better

Was it about…? No, it couldn’t be. Could it? Louis sat there dumbstruck. Was Harry singing about the day they broke up? But it was Harry who had run away that day. That’s the last time he had seen him until today. The next day Harry was on the plane on his way to LA. He hadn’t even answered Louis' phone calls. Or texts for that matter. How did he expect Louis to come around?

Louis noticed that the song had changed. He knew the next song. He had heard it on the radio when it came out. It was pretty big, wasn’t it? It was at the top of the charts for weeks. A nice calm ballad.

The next song was a more upbeat one. Starting with bass and... was it cowbell? Really? Harry had always had a thing for weird stuff, didn’t he? It was a nice song, though. Louis wondered who that girl was. It sounded like a fling or something. Louis couldn’t tell. Maybe one day he’ll ask Harry. Or maybe not.

The next song started with drums and a soft guitar. But it was the lyrics that hit Louis the most.

_Same lips red, same eyes blue_

_Same white shirt, couple more tattoos_

_But it's not you and it's not me_

Louis looked down at his white shirt. Harry would always tease him about wearing white all the time. He would tell him all the times that he should start wearing some colours. Not black and white all the time. But Louis felt good in those two colours. It was Harry who would always wear colourful buttoned shirts with flowers printed on them. He would always do only half of the buttons which drove Louis mad. He was beautiful. He still is. Louis had to admit that. He would always be beautiful in Louis’ eyes.

_We're not who we used to be_

_We don't see what we used to see_

_We're just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty_

_Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat_

Louis knew he hurt Harry badly. But the thing is, he couldn’t watch Harry with all the stunts all the time. It hurt to watch him get papped with different girls every few weeks. It hurt to look at all the headers in the articles.

But Harry couldn’t just come out. He signed some papers or contract of sorts. Louis had no idea. But Harry was traveling all the time and Louis felt lonely. He didn’t want to make Harry choose. That would be really shitty. But he couldn’t look at it either. That’s why he broke up with Harry. That’s why Harry left. That’s why he hasn’t seen him for 10 years. The song changed. Louis could hear an acoustic guitar riff. When Harry started singing.

_Sweet creature_

_Had another talk about where it's going wrong_

_But we're still young_

_We don't know where we're going_

_But we know where we belong_

Louis could already feel tears welling up in his eyes. Harry used to tell him before they went to sleep that Louis is Harry’s sweet creature. Louis would always laugh at that, but he thought it was cute. He liked being called that. But he would never admit it to Harry.

The song felt like a letter from Harry. One of those Harry would have left him when he had to go for a few weeks away. The truth is Louis kept all the letters he received from Harry. He hadn’t looked at them for a long time, but he kept them all. He couldn’t just throw them away.

_Sweet creature, sweet creature_

_Wherever I go, you bring me home_

_Sweet creature, sweet creature_

_When I run out of road, you bring me home_

Hearing Harry sing that verse made him tear up. Louis looked at his compass tattoo that pointed Home. Harry had the ship and Louis had the compass. One destined for the other. And their destination was home. Harry used to be Louis’ home. And Louis used to be Harry’s.

He looked at his other tattoos. The anchor, the dagger, Oops!. Chad asked him about his tattoos, but Louis answered that they didn’t really mean anything. But the truth is they did. But it hurt too much to go through all of the memories that they brought. Louis learned not to look at them. That was his way of coping with everything.

Louis sat there listening to song after song. They seemed to be more upbeat tunes. But he didn’t really listen to their lyrics. He was not really in the mood for them. He zoned out for a while thinking about the previous songs that he presumed were about him. He sat like that until he heard the mood change.

_Woke up alone in this hotel room_

_Played with myself, where were you?_

_Fell back to sleep, I got drunk by noon_

_I've never felt less cool_

That he felt that lyrics. That’s how he felt after breaking up with Harry. He would sleep all the time and then drink and go back to sleep. He felt like shit.

_We haven't spoke since you went away_

_Comfortable silence is so overrated_

_Why won't you ever be the first one to break?_

_Even the phone misses your call, by the way_

There were fresh tears in his eyes. He wanted to call Harry and tell him that he didn’t mean what he said. Beg him to come back. To forgive Louis. But Louis couldn’t make himself do that. He thought they would be better alone. Louis never meant to be a bother to Harry, but he also had his needs. He just wanted Harry for himself. He knew he was selfish. But he also knew Harry couldn’t give him that. So Louis would never demand that from him.

When the track ended Louis had enough. He just wanted to curl up in his bed and go to sleep. He went upstairs and laid under the covers on his bed. He wished Chad was there to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. To kiss him and make Louis forget about all the emotions that he felt listening to Harry’s album.

Why had Zayn made him do it? Well, he maybe he hadn't, but he had suggested it. Louis was more confused than before. He was torn. His brain told him one thing, but his heart wanted something else. Something he couldn’t get anymore. With that though he felt asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Louis' pov

Louis woke up when he heard the doors slam. He heard the steps on the stairs and then the door cracking.

“Honey, I’m home!” Chad exclaimed cheerfully. Too cheerfully for Louis’ liking. It was too bloody early. Louis grunted and hid his head underneath the pillow. Chad laughed at this and Louis felt the bed dipping under Chad. Louis felt Chad pressing soft kisses to the back of his neck. Louis loved that.

“Come on, baby. Get up and go take some shower. You stink,” he chuckled and got up from the bed. “I’ll go prepare some breakfast. Deal?”

“I don’t stink,” Louis grumbled. “Go make me something to eat, woman.”

“Get up, you lazy ass,” Chad said as he left the room.

Louis felt terrible. He was tossing in his bed all night. He cried some more. He had weird dreams. That was not his best night. One of the worst actually. And he blamed Zayn for all this. He will tell him that he’s the worst friend ever. It’s not the truth but Louis felt the need to tell him that anyway.

He got up and went to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, and he was thankful that Chad hadn’t seen his face. His eyes were bloodshot, and his cheeks were covered with tear stains. He decided to take a shower. He had been standing under the hot water for a long time before he reminded himself that was supposed to wash.

Twenty minutes later he came down the stairs and went towards the kitchen. Chad was standing by the stove cooking pancakes. It smelled delicious. He loved pancakes. Louis went to Chad and wrapped his arms around Chad’s waist. He buried his face in Chad’s neck and kissed him there.

“I love you, you know?” Louis purred.

“You only say that because you love my pancakes.” Chad chuckled and turned his head to kiss Louis’ forehead.

“Not true. I also love your other things,” Louis teased, but he went towards the table and sat on the chair expectantly.

“Oh really?” Chad mussed. “Care to share?”

“No, not really,” Louis smirked at him.

“Pity,” Chad said as he turned off the heat under the frying pan. He took the two plates filled with pancakes and placed them on the table. “Maybe you’ll show me later.” He winked at Louis.

“We’ll see,” Louis grinned. And started eating. “Oh my god, this is so good,” he moaned.

“Babe, we’re not even in the bedroom yet.” Chad laughed and nudged Louis under the table. “Leave something for later.”

“Shush you.” Louis pouted at him. “How is your mom?”

“She’s good. Had to help her with few things but it was nice to go see her. We could go together sometime.”

“I’d like that.” Louis smiled at him.

They ate the rest of the pancakes and then decided that they needed to go shopping because they didn’t have anything in their fridge for lunch. They went to the nearest supermarket and bought everything they needed for the next week. They went shopping usually once a week on Saturday because they didn’t have any time during the week.

***

“Louis, come on, baby,” he heard Chad from the doorway. “We’ll be late.”

“I’m coming.” Louis took his phone and wallet and hid them in his back pockets. They were going to meet with the boys in the pub. “It’s not like they don’t know I’m always late.”

“Wouldn’t you want to surprise them at least once?” Chad smirked at him as they went to the car.

“No, not really,” Louis answered as he buckled up. The truth is he was scared of meeting the boys. Well, he was scared of meeting Harry after everything that happened the day before. Earlier that day Harry sent Louis a text asking if the invitation was still actual. Louis’ hands shook as he replied with the confirmation and the address. He didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know how he would behave near Harry. It scared him a lot.

When they entered the pub, they found three guys sitting in the booth in the corner. As they approached the table, boys stood up to greet the newcomers. By the time it was Zayn’s turn to hug Louis, he might have hugged him stronger than others and tell him that he was the worst friend ever. As he swore that he would. Zayn looked at him with concerned eyes, but Louis sat down in the booth.

“What did I do now, Lou?” Zayn sat down in front of Louis, followed by Liam and Niall.

“You know what you did.” Louis looked sternly at him.

“Is this about your dinner last night?” Liam asked looking at Louis.

“Your dearest boyfriend and my supposed friend have some shitty advice.”

“I give the best advice,” Zayn snorted.

“No, you don’t. You made me listen to that album,” Louis said reproachfully.

“And what album would that be?” said the voice Louis dreaded. He would recognize his voice anywhere. Especially after listening to it yesterday evening.

All five heads turned towards the newcomer. Harry stood there dressed all in dark colors probably to avoid being recognized. He wore tight jeans with some dark sweater with NY on it. He looked really good. When did he not look good, to be honest?

“Harold!” Niall exclaimed and got up to hug Harry, “I missed you, man. We’re so glad you decided to show up. And I’m really glad that I won’t be the only one without a date tonight. I’m telling you, after all those years you would think I got accustomed to it with all of you, but now you will see what it’s like.” They both laughed at that. Liam and Zayn followed Niall’s steps.

“What did Niall mean?” Chad asked Louis.

“Um… nothing really. He just loves to exaggerate. You know him.” Louis smiled and turned towards the boys.

Chad nodded and extended his hand towards Harry, who shook it. Then it was Louis’ turn to greet Harry. He didn’t want to be suspicious of the handshake, so he went for a hug as the other boys. That wasn’t the best idea. All the memories came back of the times when they would cuddle. Their bodies fit together like puzzles. They were meant for each other. Louis unwrapped his arms quickly and sat down at the table.

“So what album were you listening to yesterday?” Harry wouldn’t let go, would he? He was too curious for his own liking. “Maybe I know it, although I haven’t listened to anything new in the last few months.”

“Well…” Louis started. Was it a good idea to tell Harry? But a part of him wanted to see the look on Harry’s face when he told him. “It would be weird if you didn’t know it as I listened to your self-titled album.”

Louis saw the moment it dawned on Harry what Louis just said. He looked at Louis with big eyes.

“Haven’t you heard it before, Lou?” Chad asked astonished. “I thought you were friends. Weren’t you curious what your friend had been up to even though you haven’t spoken?”

“I guess it never crossed my mind.” Louis looked at Chad.

“Well, what was your favourite song, then?” Chad asked him. Louis wanted to scream at him to leave that topic. He was so oblivious of the tense atmosphere. All the boys looked expectantly at Louis. “My favourite is Two Ghosts, to be honest.” Chad turned towards Harry. “Great song, mate.”

“I bet it is,” Harry looked at Louis' shirt, then at his lips, and he finally turned to Chad. “I appreciate it. This song means a lot to me. But I like Sweet Creature more.” Harry looked Louis straight in the eyes. “What about you? Lou?” he asked with a raised brow.

Louis fidgeted in his seat and looked away from Harry. “I think they all are great. But I think Sign of the Times.”

“I second that,” Zayn chimed in. “It’s a great song.”

“Should we go and order now that we’re all here?” Niall stood up and went towards the bar. They all followed him.

“Here comes Zayn for a rescue.” Louis turned around to see Harry shaking his head. “Nothing has changed, hasn't it?”

“Please, drop it.” Louis sighed. “It’s not the right place for this talk.” They were talking quietly so that no one would hear them. So that Chad wouldn’t hear them.

“Don’t get me wrong, Lou,” Harry said emphasizing the usage of his nickname, “I’m really proud of this song, so I appreciate that you like it. But your boyfriend has better taste.” Harry looked down at Louis' shirt and added, “Still wearing only white shirts, do you?” He smirked at him and approached the lads at the bar. “Okay lads, tonight all drinks are on me. We can celebrate my divorce prematurely.”

“Now you’re talking, Styles!” Niall exclaimed and patted Harry on the back. “I missed you, lad.”

“It seems like you only missed my money, you little leprechaun.” Harry smiled.

“The fact that you grew so much doesn’t mean you can laugh at us now,” Niall pointed out, “And still it’s Louis, who is the shortest.”

“That’s so true, my friend.” Harry laughed with Niall.

“I still can hear you, twats,” Louis scowled at them.

Harry and Niall shrugged and took their drinks towards the table where Zayn and Liam were waiting for them already.

“Your height is perfect,” Louis felt Chad say in his ear. “It goes perfectly with mine.” Louis turned in Chad's arms and saw the man smiling brightly at him.

“You’re too sappy for your own good, do you know that?” Louis smirked at him.

“You love it,” Chad laughed and kissed Louis’ nose.

“I love you, you sap,” Louis told him and stood on his toes to reach his boyfriend's mouth with his own lips. He kissed him sweetly. “Now, could you get me a pint, darling?” Louis smiled sweetly.

“Anything for you,” Chad answered and turned towards the bar.

Louis turned towards their table and saw piercing green eyes looking at him with an intense stare.

“What?” Louis asked Harry as he approached the boys.

“Nothing. You two look quite cosy together.” Harry took a drink from his glass. “I’m happy for you, Lou.” Harry turned towards Liam and Zayn, “and I’m really glad that you ended up together. I always told Louis you two would end up together.” He smiled at them. After a moment he added more quietly, “I wanted to apologize for leaving you guys behind. I really missed you and I’m glad I could meet today with all of you. It already feels like home.” Harry looked around at the smiling faces with as the last word left his mouth, he was looking right at Louis.

“We get it, Harry. It wasn’t easy for you. We are glad you’re back. We won’t let you go this easily this time, though. So, don’t even try it again.” Liam put his arm on Harry’s shoulder.

“I promise, I won’t,” Harry smiled at Liam.

They spent the whole evening talking and laughing. After a few pints, Louis could finally relax, although he could constantly feel Harry’s eyes on him. Let’s call it a sixth sense if you must. But he just knew the moment Harry’s eyes were on him. Even after all those years, it hadn’t changed.

They decided to call it a night sometime after midnight. They were all drunk. Louis wondered how much Harry had spent on them. He insisted on paying for everyone even though they told him he didn’t have to do that. It’s not like Harry couldn’t afford it. He most definitely could.

They all parted ways when four cabs stopped in front of the pub. Louis and Chad got into one and went home. Forty minutes later they were laying in their bed. Louis had his head on Chad’s chest and listened to his heartbeat.

“Harry seems really nice.” Chad broke the silence, “What had happened that you stopped being friends?”

“He had to move to LA for good,” Louis lied. “And then he never kept in touch I guess.” Louis shrugged. “Why are you asking?” he held his head to look at Chad’s face.

“I don’t know. I always thought he was a typical celebrity. But seeing him today made me realize, that he is just a normal guy, like us.”

“He always hated being labeled as a celebrity. He is still Harry, you know?” Louis told him. “can we sleep now? I’m exhausted, and the world is spinning.”


	4. Chapter 4

Harry's pov

Harry had a great time with guys on Saturday. At first, he was hesitant about going. He hasn’t seen them in ten years. Oh, who was he kidding? He was hesitant about seeing Louis again. He knew meeting all of them again would bring back a lot of memories. But the truth was, he wasn’t sure how he would cope with Louis being there. And Louis’ boyfriend.

Harry wondered why Louis hadn’t told Chad that they used to be together. But he was grateful, because if he knew then he wouldn’t invite Harry to hang out. Or maybe he would, but he would watch Harry’s every move. Or maybe he was just overreacting. Maybe that’s how he would react if his boyfriend were friendly whit his ex. He was really possessive.

Truth be told, he was slightly jealous of Louis which was ridiculous given the fact that he was no longer Louis’ boyfriend. But he used to be. And it hurt to look at Louis looking at Chad the way he used to look at Harry. And deep-down Harry wished, Louis would look at him like that. He would have to work on that if all of them were ever to meet again. He could see that Louis is happy, and that was all that mattered.

Maybe if he kept telling himself that he would finally believe that.

But overall, he was glad he went to the pub. He missed Niall’s laugh and Liam being the nicest person on Earth and Zayn with his dark humor and Louis being just Louis. He didn’t have to pretend among them. To them, he was just Harry. They knew him like no one else. Or at least they used to.

He drunk a little bit too much on Saturday and he woke up with a headache on Sunday. He spent the whole day watching old shows on TV with his mom. He missed her, and he was glad he had decided to come back to London. He felt safe and loved, and that’s what he needed in this situation. He could always count on his mom. She always listened to him rambling and knew how to help him with anything.

In the evening he remembered that he was supposed to fill the divorce papers. He couldn’t postpone it forever. The faster he dealt with that the better. As for the Bob… he’d been calling and texting Harry constantly. Harry ignored it. He didn’t want to talk to him then or ever again, to be honest. He hated cheaters.

***

On Monday Harry went to give the documents to Louis. He drove his car and parked it on the private parking for clients. He entered the building and headed straight towards the elevators like the last time. When he reached the 10th floor, he approached the reception desk.

“Hello, I’m here to see Louis Tomlinson,” Harry said.

“I’m worried that you just missed him,” the secretary said and smiled apologetically. “Mr. Tomlinson said he had an important meeting, and he’d be back in two hours.”

“Could I leave the document to you, and you would pass it to him?” Harry asked and put the folder on the table.

“No problem. I’ll give it to Mr. Tomlinson first thing he shows up.” She took out the sticky cards, wrote Louis’ last name on it, and attached it to the folder.

“Thank you so much.” Harry sent her a big smile. He turned towards the elevator and added, “Have a nice day.”

“That’s my job, no need to thank me,” she replied and smiled politely. “Have a nice day, Mr. Styles.”

Harry left the building and headed towards his car. He started the engine and drove towards the supermarket on his way home. He had a lot of time and nothing much to do, that’s why he decided to prepare tacos for the dinner. Gemma was coming over because they were having ladies’ night later with mum.

The traffic was terrible. Harry spent twice as much time driving towards the shop then he would normally do. He went through the supermarket as fast as he could, taking only the things he needed for the tacos.

When he arrived home, he placed the bags in the kitchen and went to his room to change into something more comfortable. Afterward, he went downstairs, turned on the radio, and started preparing the dinner.

He was halfway through when he heard his phone ringing. He looked at the caller id and saw that it was Louis. He wiped his hands and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey Harry, it’s Louis.” Harry heard the raspy voice say. “I just got back and received your files.”

“Have you looked at it, then?” Harry inquired. He put the phone between his ear and the arm and moved back to the stove to continue preparing food. “Is everything okay?”

“You forgot to sign it on the last page. Could you maybe come round the office? I wanted to take it to the court tomorrow morning as I’ll already have a meeting there.”

“Um, I really can’t right now,” Harry sighed. “I’m in the middle of cooking and I can’t leave everything on the stove.” There was a quick pause before Harry added, “Maybe you could come around and I’ll sign it here. Or if it is a problem then we can meet somewhere later, or I could come round your place.”

“I’ve got plans for the evening. But I can come now.”

“That would be great. Sorry for the inconvenience,” Harry apologised. “I’m at my mum’s, by the way. Do you remember the address?”

“Been there too many times to forget it, to be honest,” Louis pointed out.

“That’s true, I guess. Shit,” Harry paused as he cut himself with the knife. He was always clumsy. “I have to go.”

“I’m on my way. Will be there in a bit. Bye,” Louis said.

“Bye,” Harry answered and put his phone down on the counter. Fortunately, the cut was not deep, but he didn’t want to add his blood to the meal. He took the first aid kit and found bright pink plaster. He snorted at that. He disinfected the skin and covered the cut with the plaster.

He heard the front door opening. “I’m home!” shouted his mum.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Harry replied and continued preparing the dinner. It was almost ready.

“I’m starving.” Anne entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. “It smells so good.”

“It’ll be ready soon.” Harry smiled at her. “When is Gemma coming?”

“She’ll be here in twenty minutes.” They talked for a while until they heard the doorbell ring. Anne went to open the door. Harry stirred the pot.

“Louis, what a surprise!” Harry heard his mom say. “I didn’t know you would be joining us today,” she said playfully. “I haven’t seen you in ages,” she whined. “Come in, come in.”

“Hi, Anne. Thanks, but I’m only here to get Harry’s signature on the papers and I’m out. Don’t wanna disturb you, really,” Louis said as both of them entered the kitchen. Harry looked up and saw Louis in his black suit that he wore to work. It wasn’t necessary to say that Louis looked really good in suits. “Hi,” Louis turned to Harry. “The prince in his kingdom, huh?” He laughed.

“Hi,” Harry replied quietly and could feel blush covering his cheeks. The thing is, Louis would always call Harry prince because of the time he was growing his hair and it was almost shoulder length. He would always say Harry looked like a prince. And a kitchen was Harry’s kingdom. Louis couldn’t cook the simplest thing.

“You are not disturbing, honey. You are always welcome here.” Anne set the water for tea and added, “In fact, would you like to stay for dinner? Harry says it’s almost ready and I would love to catch up with you. Haven’t seen you in ages.”

Louis looked at Harry with a silent question. “You should stay. There’s enough food for all of us,” Harry smiled at him. Louis seemed to think about what to do. “If you are in a hurry, it’s okay. You said you had plans,” Harry added.

“Um, no. I have plans later. I guess I can stay for a while,” he shrugged and sat down at the table.

“Splendid,” Anne grinned. “Would you like some tea, dear?” she asked Louis.

“Yes, thank you,” he nodded.

It felt almost as nothing has changed. It felt like Louis hadn’t broken up Harry ten years ago. Anne always treated Louis like his son and Harry assumed it wasn’t going to change. They would often spend days like this. Harry cooking and Louis and Anne talking animatedly each holding a cuppa. He smiled at the memories.

“What you’ve been up to, Louis?” Anne asked as she placed the cup in front of the man. “I’ve heard you are helping Harry with the divorce?”

“More like working for him, but yeah.” He smiled and took a sip. “I’ve been good. Lots have changed since we last saw each other. How are you?”

“Better now that Harry’s here. Felt lonely sometimes, but it’s good now, isn’t it? How are your sisters?”

“They are great. Lottie is working as a personal stylist, and she’s pretty good at it. Phoebe and Daisy are in a university now. They said it was something with fashion, I can’t really remember that. And then there are Doris and Ernie who turned 6 this February.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you got through everything,” Anne put a hand on Louis’ and squeezed it. “I know it must have been hard.”

“Yes, it was, but it’s all good now.” Louis smiled at her. “I miss them, but I learned to live with it.”

“You’re really strong. I always admired you for that,” Anne admitted. “Oh, I forgot to take something from the car, I’ll be right back with you two.” She got up and left the room.

Louis looked at Harry and their gazes met. Harry didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t imagine what Louis was going through. He loved his family more than anything and he lost both his mom and his sister.

“You really are brave, Lou,” Harry admitted. “It must be really bad going through this all alone.”

“I wouldn’t be able to do it if Zayn hadn’t help,” Louis admitted. “He was there for me. Told me to pull myself together.” These words made Harry feel a pang of pain in his chest. He wanted to be there for Louis. It hurt to think that in other circumstances, it would be him that Louis would turn to. Harry averted his gaze from Louis’ though he was sure Louis saw his emotions written on his face.

“Harry, I…” Louis started quietly but was interrupted by the new voice.

“I heard we’ve got a guest.” Gemma came into the room followed by Anne. She looked first at Louis and then at Harry and could clearly see that something was off. “Did I interrupt something?” she asked.

“No, you didn’t,” Harry answered quickly. “It’s good you’re here. The food is ready.” Harry took the plate with tacos and put it down on the table. Then he went to get plates for everyone and placed them on a table. “And what you mean ‘we’ have a guest? You are a guest too.” Harry raised a brow at her as he sat down next to Louis and in front of Gemma.

“Well, little brother. If you look at it like that, you are also a guest in this house.” Gemma smirked at him.

“I bought this house!” Harry huffed with exasperation.

“But you bought it for mom,” Gemma continued.

“Okay guys, that’s enough,” Anne said, and then he turned to Louis, “You would think that they would grow up and stop those childish banters.” She faked a sigh and Louis chuckled.

“So, Louis. Haven’t seen you since the breakup thingy,” Gemma said with a big smirk on her face. “What brings you back?”

“Really Gemma,” Harry growled. Louis opened his mouth not really expecting that. Although he knew she was capable of doing something like that. “Grow the fuck up.”

“No swearing in this house, Harry. And you drop it too, Gemma,” Anne said slightly annoyed. “Louis is guest and you two behave,” she said sternly.

“I guess I deserved that,” Louis replied with a shrug. “I'm actually here to get Harry’s signature on the divorce papers.”

“Oh yeah, it’s high time he did that. Never like the douchebag,” Gemma snorted. “Isn’t it weird that you are helping Harry with his divorce?” She dwelled.

“Can you drop it already?” Harry frowned at her. “You’re making it more uncomfortable than it already was.”

“Don't get your knickers in a twist, little bro. I was just teasing,” she shrugged.

“Then don’t,” Harry said.

“Well that was a nice dinner,” Anne said sarcastically. “Sorry Louis that you had to witness that.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Louis answered and looked at Gemma. “Kinda forgot how it used to be, to be honest.”

“You lost your wit, dear boyfriend,” Gemma winked at Louis. “I missed our banters. Harry could never outwit me. It must be because he dropped out of school at a young age.” They both laughed and Harry groaned. Gemma always called Louis ‘the boyfriend.’

It was her way to tease Harry so many years ago. But Louis wasn’t Harry’s boyfriend anymore. He hadn’t been his boyfriend in many years, so she shouldn’t have said that in the first place. Louis had a boyfriend. Harry had to remind himself that because this dinner felt too much like it used to.

“Okay, we’re heading out,” Anne stated, and both she and Gemma got up. Anne left but Gemma lingered for a moment.

“Be good. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Gemma winked at them and left the room.

“I’m gonna strangle her one day, I swear,” Harry said as he got up to put plates in the sink.

“You’ve been saying that too many times to believe you now, Harry,” Louis laughed. “I forgot how she was. Took my by surprise today, but next time I’ll come prepared,” Louis exclaimed without thinking.

It dawned on them at the same time what he said. “Next time, huh?” Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “Already inviting yourself over?” he smirked at Louis and added, “Just tell me when so I’ll prepare something to eat.”

“Oh, shut up.” Louis groaned and shook his head. Harry laughed at him.

“No but seriously, you are always welcome here.” Harry looked at him with a sparkle in his green eyes. “Nothing has changed when it comes to that.”

“Thank you, Harry.” Harry was confused. What was he thankful for? For what Harry just said? Or maybe for dinner? Or maybe something else. “Nice plaster by the way. Wanted to tell you earlier but had no opportunity with Gemma’s assault.”

Harry grinned and looked at his finger. “It is isn’t it?” Harry put his hand up so that Louis would see it and then wiggled his fingers. “It will look good with my rings.” He chuckled.

“I’m sure it will.” Louis grinned and nodded.

Harry loaded the dishwasher and started to clean the kitchen. The silence in the room was not awkward. Harry and Louis both seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

“Harry, could we, Um, talk?” Louis broke the silence. Harry looked at him and saw that Louis was kind of tense where he was sitting. “I mean, I keep seeing you every day since the day you walked into my office and all I can think about is that we should clear the air between us. We can pretend that everything is fine, but deep down we both know it’s not.”

To be honest Harry dreaded this. He knew they should talk about what happened ten years ago but he wanted to postpone it for as long as he could. He didn’t know id he was ready for that conversation. Having that conversation would mean that they would once and for all close that chapter of their lives. And Harry didn’t know if he wanted that.

“We didn’t get to meet me yesterday.” Harry averted his eyes. He tried to buy some time for himself to calm his breath. To prepare for what was to come.

“Harry.” Louis insisted. When Harry didn’t respond he sighed and added. “We didn’t get to meet yesterday, but you seem to be everywhere, to be honest. Like yesterday Chad and I were watching this war movie and there you are sitting on the sand in the uniform.” Louis shook his head at that. “I mean, I knew you were in a movie, but I didn’t know which one.”

Harry turned to look at Louis. He never thought about Louis not listening to his music before or not seeing his movie. He knew they hadn’t been on a speaking term, but Harry though Louis was at least curious about what was going on with Harry.

“Did you like it?” Harry leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. He tried really hard not to feel disappointed.

“The movie?” Louis asked. When Harry nodded, he answered truthfully, “yeah, it was really good. Didn’t know you could play, though.” He rose his brow and smirked at Harry.

“I didn’t know myself,” Harry answered with a shrug. “It was a great opportunity though, so I thought, why not give it a shot.”

“It would be a pity if you let this opportunity slip,” Louis said earnestly. “You did a good job.” After a moment he added, “the weirdest part, was my boyfriend calling you ‘hot’. Don’t get me wrong, you most definitely are, but given the situation, well, that was awkward.”

Harry didn’t know if he felt glad that Louis thought he was hot or if to feel bitter for Louis bringing up his boyfriend. Again. Harry felt like he was throwing the fact that Louis was taken in his face. He didn’t like to be constantly reminded of that.

Harry snorted at that. “So, could we talk?” Louis inquired. “I have some time left before I have to get going, and I would really like to clear the air between us. I think I owe you apologies and an explanation.” He smiled sadly at Harry. Louis had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, and he wore that puppy face look that always got Harry to agree to anything. He was so whipped then and he still couldn’t refuse Louis now.

“Okay.” Harry agreed. “But I have to go to the toilette first. You can make us some tea in the meantime.”

“Sure,” Louis answered, and Harry could see relief in his eyes. Harry left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Louis' pov

Louis was glad Harry agreed to talk. They should have done that a long time ago. But they hadn’t had a chance until now. And Louis wanted to tell Harry everything.

He wanted to tell Harry, why he decided to break up. He hoped Harry would forgive him. For being selfish. Maybe then they could start over.

He got up from his seat, took his mug, and went towards the kettle to put it on. He took another cup from the cupboard and opened another to get two tea bags.

When the water boiled, Louis poured it into the cups. He took the cups and set them back on the table. Harry came back and sat down in front of Louis.

“Okay,” Louis began. “First of all, I wanted to apologise for breaking up the way I did. I knew it was the worst possible moment to do that.”

“I don’t think it mattered that much,” Harry shrugged. “It wasn't the best day but could be no matter which day you would choose it would be the worst.”

“You’re right. Well, I just,” Louis hesitated. “I was extremely jealous. I hated seeing you with all the girls in every news and on every cover. I knew that it wasn’t true, but I didn’t understand why we couldn’t just be together. I was hurt and I was selfish. But after some time, it was too much. And you weren’t there with me and I just felt like crying constantly.”

Louis was pouring his heart in front of Harry and when he started talking, he couldn’t stop.

Harry looked at him with noticeable hurt in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly.

“I didn’t want to make you choose,” Louis admitted averting his eyes from Harry’s. “I knew I couldn’t live that way anymore, but I would never ask you to give up everything you loved. It’s too much to ask of anyone.”

“I loved you, Louis,” Harry said sternly. “I loved you more than some fucking job. You mattered much more than anything else.”

Harry was getting angry. Louis could see Harry’s grip on the mug tighten. “What I don’t understand, is why you thought it was better to make that decision for me instead of talking to me in the first place.” Harry’s voice was really low and disturbingly low. “I thought we could tell each other about everything. That we trusted each other.”

Louis looked him straight in the eyes. “I trusted you with my whole life, and you know that. I just didn’t want you to give up on your dreams. I knew it was really important to you. I saw the way your eyes shone when you talked about making new music and performing and meeting fans. I was so proud of you.”

“My dreams, huh,” Harry huffed. “My biggest dream was to marry you one day and start a family. Have a house somewhere in the suburbs of London, so that we would be close to everyone else. To our families, our friends. That was my biggest dream that I had to give up on because of you.”

Louis’ eyes filled with tears. Harry’s words were full of sorrow and misery. He could see the pain on Harry’s face, and his heart was breaking into a million pieces again. He hurt this boy so much.

“I am so sorry, Harry,” Louis sobbed. “I know I had no right to decide for you, but I was just scared. I was terrified that there was a slight possibility you would think I wasn’t worth it.”

“You know I would have given up on everything for you,” Harry said softly, placing his big hand on top of Louis’ smaller one. “I’m just sorry that you didn’t see that. I thought I was quite obvious with my intentions, but I guess I wasn’t.”

“You were,” Louis said. “I can see that now. But then I was blinded with all the emotions that I kept inside of me. I was scared, and I’m sorry for not giving us a chance. For not fighting for us.” Louis had paused before he added, “I just hope you’ll forgive me one day.”

“I think I already have,” Harry’s word felt honest. “I think that music helped me. I’ve written a lot of songs which helped me get it out of my system. All the negative feelings. And the truth is, I could never hold a grudge for so many years. But it still hurts, you know?” Harry admitted and offered a sad smile.

Louis hadn’t expected that. He sat there in shock. He couldn’t understand how Harry could forgive him already. “Really?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yeah,” Harry answered. “Now it’s your turn to forgive yourself.”

Louis didn’t know what to say to that, so he said what first came to his mind, “Can I hug you, please?”

“Sure, Lou.” The nickname caused the tears to fall from Louis' eyes again. They got up from their chairs, and Louis wrapped his arms tight around Harry. He buried his face in man’s chest and breathed him in, wanting to savor the familiar scent.

Harry put his cheek on the top of Louis’ head. One of Harry’s arms was gently rubbing Louis’ back. Louis felt safe in Harry’s arms. Their hug reminded Louis of home.

When they pulled apart, Louis felt an instant loss of warmth that Harry’s embrace offered. He wiped his eyes with the sleeve and looked up at Harry.

“When did you grow up so much?” he felt the need to brighten the heavy atmosphere. Harry shrugged and smiled at Louis. “I’m not complaining, though.”

When they pulled apart, Louis felt an instant loss of warmth that Harry’s embrace offered. He wiped his eyes with the sleeve and looked up at Harry. “When did you grow up so much,” he felt the need to brighten the heavy atmosphere. Harry shrugged and smiled at Louis. “I’m not complaining, though.”

At that moment Louis’ phone rang. Louis looked down at the screen and saw it was Chad.

“You should probably answer that,” Harry said as he took both mugs and went to place them in a sink.

The atmosphere changed again as if the bubble they were in seconds ago burst. They snapped back to reality.

“Hello,” Louis said as he answered the call.

“Hey, babe. When are you going to be back? You remember we were going out, right?” Chad said.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll be back in half an hour.”

“Great. See you at home.”

“Bye,” Louis said and ended the call. He turned to Harry who was watching him intently. “I have to go.” Harry just nodded. “I’m glad we talked. It felt almost cathartic. Thank you for hearing me out. I hope we’re good.”

“We are,” Harry assured him. They went towards the front door. Louis grabbed the door handle and turned slightly to look at Harry leaning against the wall. His arms and legs were crossed, and his face was unreadable. “Bye Lou,” he said softly.

“Bye,” Louis said. He opened the doors and left towards his car. When he entered the vehicle, he turned towards the doors, but it was closed.

He was disappointed that he didn’t find Harry there. Because that’s what Harry used to do. Stand in the doors until Louis disappeared from his view. Why would he, though? They weren’t boyfriends anymore. With that thought, Louis drove home.

***

The following three weeks were quite uneventful for Louis. He had a lot of boring cases. Lots of divorces due to infidelity or unrealistic expectations. Sometimes he wondered why he had chosen to deal with the divorces. He had no idea. But there he was, sitting at a desk with loads of papers laying on it.

He met again with the lads on the first Saturday following his visit at Harry’s. This time without Harry. He was invited, but he couldn’t come due to an interview or something. Louis was glad that it turned out this way. He still was shaken from the encounter they had.

Three weeks after he filled Harry’s divorce papers, he got a call from LA. It was Harry’s husband’s lawyer stating that his client wanted to meet with Harry before he signed anything. And that they wanted to negotiate divorce settlements.

After the phone call, Louis decided to let Harry know as soon as possible. He had to ask Harry, how Harry would like to proceed with the proposition. He opened contacts on his phone and pressed Harry’s number. He put the phone to his ear and waited for Harry to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey Harry, it’s Louis,” Louis said although he knew Harry probably saw the caller’s id. “Can you talk?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Harry asked. His voice was deep and hoarse as if he just got up.

“Did I wake you up?” Louis asked with a hint of amusement.

“Um, yeah,” Harry chuckled. “Was taking a nap actually. Had to get up early. But no worries. What’s up?”

“I’ve got news about your case. Robert’s lawyer called and told me Robert wants to meet you before he signs anything and that they wanted to negotiate the divorce settlements.”

“Fucking hell,” Harry groaned. “Thought it would be done already.”

“I need to know what your decision is. I can tell him that you won’t meet, but that could postpone the finalization for quite some time.”

“No need. I’ll go. Don’t really have a choice.” Harry yawned and added, “will you be going with me?”

“I should as your attorney,” Louis said but then quickly added with an unsure voice, “unless you don’t want me to, then we can arrange someone else to go with you.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I just didn’t want to deal with it by myself, you know?”

“Okay then. I’ll call them back to arrange the meeting and then I’ll let you know about everything.”

“Can’t wait,” Harry answered sarcastically. “Bye.”

Harry hung up and Louis dialed the other lawyer. They arranged to meet in three days so that Louis and Harry would have had enough time to buy tickets and fly to Los Angeles. He let Harry know about the details and then went to his boss to let him know about the upcoming trip.

Later that day Louis was informed that the flight would take off the following day around 8 pm. He hoped he would be able to sleep through the flight. But it depended on the people sat next to him. His boss told him that he would have to work a little bit more for a business class ticket. Eleven hours in an economy class. He could already feel the pain in his back.

The next day Louis left the office an hour earlier so he could go get changed and take a quick shower. Two hours before the flight, Chad dropped Louis to the airport. He went to the check-in counter of his airline. He showed agent hi ID and then placed the baggage on the nook. The lady tagged it and placed it on the conveyor belt behind the counter. Afterward, she handed Louis his boarding pass.

Louis took his boarding pass, hid it in his backpack, and turned towards the security checkpoint. After getting through the metal detector, Louis took his things from the conveyor belt and went to find an empty seat in the boarding area.

He sat near his gate and took out a book he started reading recently. About an hour later, he heard the gate agents announce boarding. He prepared the boarding pass and his ID and stood in a queue. He was bored, so he looked at his boarding pass to check the seat he would occupy. He hoped for a window seat.

His eyes widened in shock as he saw the ‘first-class’ written on the ticket. Someone must have made a mistake. His company would never pay for first-class tickets. They didn’t even want to buy a business class ticket, let alone first class.

But everything seemed to be right. There was his surname printed right above the seat number. Someone must have made a mistake, but he wasn’t going to complain. Maybe this flight would turn to be a better experience than he had expected.

Twenty minutes later Louis was sitting in a first-class. He had to admit that the seats were extremely comfortable. He wasn’t surprised that there were a lot of empty seats. Most people couldn’t afford it. He could have never afforded it if he were being honest. He took out a book and started reading.

After some time, he heard someone sitting next to him.

“What are you reading?” He looked up to see Harry. Of course, it was. Who else could that be? Now it all made sense.

“Have you by any chance upgraded my flight ticket?” Louis raised his brow.

“Um, yeah. Hope you don’t mind. I just thought that we are on the same flight, so it would be nice to sit next to each other. And I didn’t want to bring any attention to myself sitting in the economy class. I had to sneak in, so no one would recognise me. Besides, you have to go to LA because of me, so it’s the least I could do to make you comfortable.” Harry rambled.

“Harry, you’re blabbering,” Louis interrupted him. “And I don’t mind but I wish you gave me a heads-up you know. But I’m extremely grateful. I don’t think the economic class would be good for my extremely gentle back,” he joked.

“Oh my god, I can imagine you whining about it the whole next day.” Harry laughed.

“Shush you,” Louis nudged Harry with an elbow. “How are you feeling about, you know, seeing him again?” Louis asked with curiosity.

“I don’t know.” Harry shrugged. “I have to deal with him once and foremost.”

“Can I ask you something?” Louis asked. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“Shoot.” Harry rested his head on the backrest and closed his eyes as if to prepare for the question.

“How come you two ended up together?” Louis asked hesitantly.

Harry sighed. “We met at one of my friends’ party. In the beginning, we were just having fun. Going out every few days. But after some time, we would go eat out from time to time and in the end, we agreed to make that official. And then a year after we got engaged, then we got married. You know the drill.”

“Who proposed?” Harry opened his eyes and looked at Louis.

“He did,” Harry answered quietly.

Louis hesitated before he asked the next question. “Why did you agree?”

Green eyes never left blue ones as Harry answered, “because I thought he loved me.”

“Did you love him?” Louis said before he could stop himself. He was in no position to ask that question. It wasn’t his business. But the truth is he had to know. He didn’t know why.

“My heart made a choice many years ago and no matter how much I tried, it wouldn’t beat for anyone else.”

Did Louis hear correctly? Did Harry just tell him, that he still loved him after all those years? “Harry, I,” Louis stuttered. He couldn’t find the right words to say. He regretted asking Harry that. He was already confused about his feeling without hearing Harry’s confession. The truth is his heart skipped a bit when Harry admitted that he still had feelings towards Louis.

“It’s okay Lou.” He smiled sadly and added, “I have learned to live with that. Maybe someday I’ll be able to love again. But for now, I have the divorce on my mind.” After a short pause, he added, “don’t feel obliged to do anything about it. I just thought that there was no point in lying to you. I know you love Chad. I saw you looking at him with those heart eyes. You two are disgustingly cute.” Harry tried to loosen the air, but he failed. Louis could hear the jealousy in Harry’s voice. “I think I’m going to try to sleep for a while.”

Louis nodded in acknowledgment. Harry took the earpods and put them in his ears. He opened some music app on his phone and played a meditation playlist. He covered his eyes with a sleeping mask and rested his head on the headrest.

Louis opened his book and tried to read, but he couldn’t focus on it. He decided to watch a movie. He turned the tv on and looked for a movie to watch. He didn’t know what he wanted to watch when he saw Grease. Perfect, he thought. He put his earpods in his ears and pressed play.

Halfway through the movie Harry took one of Louis’ earpods of his ear and said, “How many times exactly have you watched this movie?” He smirked at Louis.

Louis looked at Harry. His hair was messy because of the sleeping mask and his green eyes were tired. “Too many, to be honest.” He chuckled. “I didn’t know what to watch, so I just went with it. Wanna watch with me?” Louis said offering one of his earpods to Harry.

“Sure.” Harry took the earpod. After a while, Harry wriggled in his seat. He couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position. In the end, he rested his head on Louis’ shoulder. Louis automatically rested his cheek on top of Harry’s head. That’s how they both fell asleep mere minutes later.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry's pov

Sometime during the night, Harry woke up from his slumber. His neck was sore because of the uncomfortable position he had fallen asleep in. He stretched his arms and neck to find a slight relief. The temperature in the cabin dropped.

He looked right at Louis who had to rearrange his sitting position during the night. He sat curled up, arms crossed over his chest with his feet on the seat. His eyelids were closed against the dim light of cabin lights, his breathing deep and relaxed. Even the crow’s feet round his eyes now but a memory.

Harry got up and went to ask a flight attendant to bring them some pillows and blankets. As he got back, he gently shook Louis’ arm to wake him up, so they could change their seats into a bed. It wasn’t an easy job, as Louis would steer away from the touch and refuse to wake.

It took Louis a few words whispered in the ear to finally open his eyes. He looked so cosy as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He got up with pained expression on his face but luckily no harsh words. They both made the beds and got under the blankets. Not a minute later Louis was fast asleep with the blanket pulled up under his nose. Harry followed Louis’ steps shortly after.

***

The flight attendant woke them up two hours before the landing and asked what they wanted to eat. To nobody’s astonishment, Harry ordered toasts with avocado whereas Louis ordered scrambled eggs.

Before the flight attendant brought their meals, they chatted mostly about their families and changes that have happened since they broke up. As soon as the meals were placed in front of the boys, Harry got down to eating because he was quite hungry. He had forgotten to eat dinner the day before.

He could feel Louis' eyes on him. He turned towards the lad and asked with a raised brow, “what?”

“How can you eat that?” Louis frowned pointing at Harry’s plate. His face was scrunched in distaste.

“What do you mean?” Harry looked at his toasts and back at Louis. “I like avocados on toast.” He shrugged.

“Of course, you do,” Louis groaned. “It’s like the trendiest food of all times. It’s not even good.”

“It’s really good. Do you want to try it?” Harry asked as he held the toast in front of Louis’ face.

Louis wrinkled his nose. “Yuck. No, thank you,” he said and pushed Harry’s hand away.

“You’re exaggerating. It’s really good.” Harry took a bite and groaned excessively which earned him a slightly astounded expression on Louis' face. Harry smiled innocently as if he didn’t know his moan affected Louis. When Louis shook his head in disbelief, Harry wiggled his eyebrows at him.

“You’re unbelievable,” Louis snorted.

As they finished eating their meals, they made themselves comfortable, following Louis’ sigh of content. They sat there with their eyes closed both lost in their own thoughts.

“Hey, Lou,” Harry asked breaking the silence. “Which hotel have you booked?”

“I don’t remember. I’ve got it saved on my phone.” Louis opened his eyes and looked at Harry who seemed to be in two minds. “Why?”

“Um,” Harry fidgeted in his seat. “I was wondering if you would like to stay at my beach house with me?” Then he averted his gaze from Louis’ eyes and started rambling, “’cause, you know, like, Um… I don’t really wanna stay alone there, and you could also help me prepare for what to expect from the meeting, and, and…”

“Harry, Harry, stop, stop. Look at me,” Louis interrupted him and placed his hand on Harry’s forearm to calm him down. “You’re rambling.”

Harry looked at him and whispered, “sorry about that. But I just… I don’t wanna be alone, you know? But I’ll understand if you don’t want to.”

Louis hesitated before he replied, “I have no problem with that, honestly.”

“Really?” Harry smiled. There were two dimples adorning his face. Louis thought that sight should have come with a warning: Dangerous! Don't be deceived by dimples and curls.

“Yeah, I mean, why not? But I’ll have to cancel the reservation as we leave the airport.”

Harry didn’t like the idea of staying alone in his house. He used to love that. His beach house was his oasis that nobody knew of. Even Bob had no idea Harry had a house in Malibu. Harry would always go there whenever he had to get away from all the muddle. It was a special place where he wrote a lot of songs.

This time he didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to have someone by his side. Especially now, when he was in LA, where all of his friends seemed to hang out with him for the clout. He had no one there. And it terrified him. That’s why he wanted Louis to stay with him in his house. So that he wouldn’t be alone. So that he could pretend for a few days that everything in his life was okay.

***

When the plane landed, they waited for everyone to leave. Harry called a driver and asked for a private exit in advance. It was around midnight, but he didn’t want to stumble upon anyone who might recognize him. He didn’t want anyone to take pictures of him. Especially when Louis was with him. He wanted to protect Louis from the madness that was the internet and social media.

Half an hour later they were in the back of the car. They got there uneventfully which Harry was thankful for. The ride to his house took around an hour. They sat in silence both too tired from the flight to care for a talk. Louis was looking out of the window taking in the views.

When the driver pulled over in front of the gates and announces they reached the destination, they left the car. Louis looked around astounded. “You call it a beach house?” he snorted. “It’s three times as big as my house in London.”

“I call it a beach house because it has a private beach,” Harry joked.

“Of course, it has a private beach. What was I thinking? A public one? God forbid!” They took their bags and headed towards the entrance. Harry opened the door indicating Louis to enter first.

“What a gentleman,” Louis smirked at Harry as he entered the house.

“Always,” Harry chuckled and followed Louis inside. He turned on the lights and took off his shoes. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room.” He nudged Louis on the ribs to make him move towards the stairs.

“Why exactly do you need so much space for yourself?” Louis inquired.

Harry shrugged and as an afterthought, he said, “I liked the view.” He shrugged.

“Are you for real?” Louis shook his head. “Is this my bedroom?” He pointed at a door on the left.

“Yeah, it has an ocean view. I know you’ll like it. My bedroom is right next to yours if need anything.”

“Thanks. Goodnight babycakes.” Louis sent Harry a mischievous smile.

Harry laughed and answered, “Goodnight sweet cheeks.” With those words, each of them went to their own bedrooms.

After two hours of turning around in bed, Harry realized there was no point in lying himself he would fall asleep. He got up and headed downstairs towards the living room. The room was lit only by the moonlight. As Harry approached the window, he saw the moon hanging high above the ocean surrounded by the thousands of stars.

He turned around and approached the piano standing in the far corner of the room. He sat on a stool and placed his hands on the keys. He wasn’t really good at playing the piano as he was still learning, but he knew how to play some songs.

After a while of sitting there in the silence, he pressed the first chord. The gentle sound broke the silence of the night. He changed the chord and pressed again. This time it was louder but not loud enough to reach Louis sleeping upstairs.

Before he knew it, his hands had been playing one of the songs that always made him emotional. It was fairly personal to him but still one of his favorites to play live. He always let the crowd sing one of the verses because they seemed to love the song just as much. There’s no better sound than listening to the crowd of people singing your song.

“If I could fly,” Harry started singing quietly. “I’d be coming right back home to you.”

Being a singer meant spending a lot of time far away from home. And sometimes it was too hard. Sometimes he wanted to let it all go and go back home. But then he thought about his fans and he just couldn’t disappoint them.

On one of those nights where he thought he wouldn’t be able to do it anymore, he had written this song. About being far away from his home. Wanting to go back. To his home. To Louis. Because Louis had been his home at that time. Not a house in the center of London or a penthouse in New York. Not even his mansion in Los Angeles. No other place felt like home for him.

After singing the second verse, he felt the presence in the room. He looked in the direction of the stairs and saw Louis leaning against the wall. Harry took him in. Although his eyes were sleepy and his hair was ruffled, he looked particularly beautiful bathed in the moonlight.

Louis was standing there barefoot with his grey tracksuits hanging low on his hip and too big white shirt revealing his collarbones. His face was relaxed with a hint of a smile on it. As their eyes met, Harry started singing the chorus, “For your eyes only, I’ll show you my heart.”

Louis pushed away from the wall and slowly approached the piano never breaking the eye contact. It was a song written for Louis, and he had heard it before. He knew this song pretty well as he would always ask Harry to sing it to him whenever Harry had been back from the tour.

Louis sat down next to Harry with his back to the piano. He broke eye contact and stared at the view outside the floor-length window. Harry looked back at the keys, and that’s how they stayed throughout the rest of the song.

After the last chord died down, they sat in silence disturbed only by the sound of their breathing. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts. It was comfortable.

“Sorry if I woke you up,” Harry said finally quietly. He didn’t know why he felt the need to whisper in his own house. He turned around, so he was facing the window as well. They were sitting close to each other, their knees almost touching.

“You didn’t,” Louis answered. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Me too,” Harry said and looked left at Louis’ profile. It was the first time he could get a close look at Louis.

Louis seemed relaxed. His pale skin was glowing in the white light. His eyelashes were as long and as Harry remembered. His eyes were delicate. His nose was covered with barely visible freckles. Louis had smirked before he said, “You’re staring.”

Harry averted his gaze and he could feel the blush covering his neck and checks. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” Louis softly with a hint of amusement. After a pause, he added, “this song gets me every time I hear it. Especially hearing it like that.”

“I thought you hadn't listened to my music anymore.” Harry raised his eyebrows at Louis mockingly.

Louis finally turned to look at Harry. “I haven’t listened to your new music. But I still listened to the ones I knew,” Louis confessed. “You can’t blame me. They are really good songs. Especially this one.” He smiled his eyes crinkling slightly. There was a hint of the crow’s feet that Harry loved so much.

Harry smiled and lost himself inside Louis' eyes for a short while. “What about the new ones that you heard?” He had been curious ever since the day they met at the bar and Louis had confessed to listening to his album. It was probably his only opportunity to find out the answer, so he seized it.

“I still haven’t heard the last album,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “The self-titled one made me feel lots of things and I wasn’t really prepared for that. I didn’t know that after all this time you’ll still bring back the past relationship.”

Harry snorted at that. “It’s not so simple to just forget about everything we’ve been through. Maybe for you it was, but not for me.” A slight degree of petulance had crept into his voice. “You were it for me. It wouldn’t change overnight.” His eyes were bearing a hint of accusation.

“It’s not what I meant.” Louis wore a pained look on his face. “I know I fucked up, Harry.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” Harry shrugged and looked at the ocean. It was starting to get brighter. Almost sunrise time. “I just wish it stopped hurting. But it hurts every time I look at you and I know that we’ll never get back to how it used to be. And it kills me, ‘cause I know I’ll never be able to hold you the way I want to.”

“Harry, I…” Louis stuttered.

“Let me finish Lou,” Harry sighed. “I don’t want to make you feel bad about it, but I have to say it. I have to say it, because maybe then I’ll be able to move on.” He set his sad eyes on Louis. “It kills me to see you with Chad because it reminds me of what we had. But before we started dating, we were best friends for a really long time, and truth be told, I miss my best friend. And if I get my best friend out of it, then I know it’ll be worth it. Because I’ll move on. Eventually.”

“I missed my best friend, too,” Louis was tearing up. “I’m so sorry, H.”

“It’ll be alright. We’ll be alright.” Harry placed his hand on Louis’ knee. “I’m just glad we talked about it, you know. I know where we stand now, and that’s what I needed.” It was then that the realization hit him. He was finally giving up on any hope he had left. And it made tears fill his eyes. He felt so many things that he had to leave the room. “I think I’m gonna go to bed. Goodnight, Lou.” He sent him a faint smile and left.

When he entered his room, he closed the door and slid down to the floor. He hugged his knees and hid his face in his arms. He started crying. He cried because he knew, he’ll never be able to move on. But he’ll keep pretending for Louis. He would do anything to have Louis back in his life. Even if that meant only as a friend. He won’t take that for granted. He crawled back to his bed and buried in his covers. As soon as his head hit the bed, he was fast asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Louis' pov

Louis stayed in the same position for quite some time going through everything that Harry said. He had seen the tears in Harry’s eyes as he left the room. Louis wanted to comfort him, but he was not sure, anything he said would make Harry feel better.

Louis knew Harry hadn’t moved on. He could see Harry looking at Louis, whenever he thought Louis wasn’t looking. But after so many years spent together, Louis could always tell when Harry sent him his little glances. You could call it a sixth sense. He always knew. But those glances were full of longing and sadness, and it really killed Louis.

He could tell Harry was putting an effort to be Louis’ friend. It wasn’t easy for the younger boy, but Louis appreciated it. He was in a relationship now. He had moved on. But that didn’t mean he didn’t miss his best friend. In the past, he caught himself feeling the need to tell Harry about something that happened, but then he would remind himself that they weren’t talking anymore.

When the sun was just above the horizon, he decided to go out. His limbs went numb from the hours spent in the same position. He looked around the room for any piece of paper and a pen. When he eventually found what he was looking for, he scribbled _‘I’m going out for a walk. Be back later. L’_ on it and left it on the counter.

He left the house through the back door that led towards the shore. It was the perfect time for a stroll down the beach as it was empty, and the temperature was moderate. As he reached the water, he took off his Vans and dipped his toes. It was chilly, but Louis didn’t mind. He stood there for some time looking at the yachts drifting in the distance.

After some time, he turned towards the city and started walking again. He decided to call Chad, as it was an afternoon in the UK. He told his boyfriend how cool flying the first class was and that Harry had invited Louis to live with him while they stayed in LA.

They decided to book some holidays when Louis would come back. It had been a long time since they were anywhere together. They talked about some possible destinations. Louis wanted to go to Paris. It was his favourite place in the world. He’d been there twice and each time he felt even more in love with that place.

They stopped talking mere half an hour later. Chad had to do some stuff before he would go out to meet with the lads. Louis was supposed to meet with them too, but since he was in LA he couldn't.

It was already 11 am when he got back. He was out for over three hours. But it was really nice. He walked into the room and saw Harry sitting on the grey couch with his legs on the table. In one hand he was holding a white mug with sunflowers and in the other - his iPhone.

He was scrolling through Twitter, judging by the colors of the app on the screen. He looked relaxed and a little bit bored. He was wearing shorts and a white t-shirt with the Rolling Stones logo printed on it. Louis recognized it from when they were still a couple which made him smile.

Harry looked up at him and said, “Hey. I’ve made some sandwiches for lunch if you’d like. They are on the counter in the kitchen.” He went back to scrolling.

“Great. I was getting hungry actually.” Louis took off his shoes and went to grab one sandwich. He took the electric kettle, filled it with water, and turned it on. He opened a few cabinets until he found the one with mugs and tea.

“Did you have a nice walk?” he heard Harry ask from the other room.

“Yeah, it was really nice. It’s not every time I can take a walk on the beach by the ocean, can I?” Louis answered. He prepared his tea the way he liked it - with milk and no sugar, and went back to sit next to Harry.

“No, I suppose you can’t,” he said not looking up from his phone.

Louis sat down in the armchair with his feet tucked under him. He took a sip of his hot tea. Even though it was warm outside, there’s no chance he would drink cold tea. It just didn’t taste as good. “What are you doing?” he asked conversationally.

“Nothing,” Harry shrugged. “Just swiping through twitter. I haven’t been online since I left LA. I’ll post something to calm the fans after we deal with my marriage.”

“Speaking of,” Louis started. “I was thinking we could talk about tomorrow’s meeting after I take a shower. I will tell you what you can expect, and you’ll tell me what you’re willing to give up on.”

“Sure,” Harry mumbled indifferently.

“Harry,” Louis said softly, and he received only hum back. “Harry,” he said more sternly which made Harry look up from his screen.

“What?” he asked with a glint of surprise and something else Louis couldn’t really recognize.

“Is everything alright between us?”

“Yeah, it is.” Harry smiled sadly and added, “I’m just tired. I’m not really talkative when jetlagged.” He went back to his phone.

Louis wanted to pinpoint that they had talked a couple hours ago and that was not the case, but he let it go. “Okay, I’m going to freshen up. See you at the dinner,” he said as he walked to the kitchen to put his mug back in the sink and went to his room.

He was glad he had a room with an ocean view. It was mesmerizing. He could see more people at the beach then during his walk. Some of them were sunbathing, others swimming or surfing. It was much different than being in London. In London, everyone seemed to be in a hurry while here it was like being on a permanent vacation. As if the time had stopped for a while.

He got his toiletries from the bag and went to the adjoined bathroom. It was half as big as the room, but it was still bigger than the one at his house in London. There was a huge walk-in shower, two vessel sinks on a marble counter, a toilet bowl, and a bathtub below the window with candles and bathing oils laying on the windowsill.

He picked the candles and smelled them with curiosity. There were five of them. He could smell vanilla, lavender, caramel, kiwi, and… he couldn’t name the last scent. There was no label attached, but Louis was sure he had smelled it before. It was familiar, and it reminded him of a home.

Instead of taking the shower, he decided to take a bath. He opened the windows first and then let the water fill the bathtub. When it was almost filled, he dressed down and plunged into lukewarm water. He took one of the bathing oils and sniffed the bottle. It smelled like something citrusy with a hint of watermelon. He felt like indulging himself today, so he poured a bit into the water.

He closed his eyes and relaxed. It felt like paradise. A place where he could forget about everything for a while. No wonder Harry decided to stay there.

He might have spent more time than he intended to in the first place, but it wasn’t like he had much to do. He got out of the water and drained the water in the bathtub. He took the towel, but he realized he hadn’t taken fresh clothes. He wrapped the towel around his hips and went back to the room. As he was looking through his stuff in the bag, he heard the door opening.

“Hey Louis, I’ve,” he heard Harry say so he turned around towards him. He saw Harry standing with his eyes wide open as he seemed to forget he was speaking in the first place. Harry’s eyes slid down Louis; chest and then he blushed as he realized what he just did. “Oh my god!” he exclaimed as he turned around. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in like that. I should have knocked.”

“It’s okay, Harry,” Louis snorted with humor. “It’s not the first time you see me like that.”

“Yeah, but, you know, it’s different now,” Harry said embarrassed. “I just wanted to let you know that the dinner is ready. Come whenever you’re ready.” And with that, he closed the door and Louis heard him go down the stairs.

Louis was sure he would tease Harry about that later on. He loved to embarrass Harry.

He put on some clothes and went downstairs. Harry was looking through the window with a glass of red wine in one hand. As soon as Louis entered, he looked at him and blushed. Louis didn’t even have to say anything and yet Harry was blushing. It was too good.

“Um, sit down, please,” Harry said. “Do you want wine? It’s semi-sweet,” He asked as he held the bottle and empty glass.

“My favorite,” Louis smirked at him and sat down. He watched Harry pour the wine, his hands shaking a little bit. When he finished, he took both glasses and approached the table, and placed them next to the plates.

“Thank you, kind sir,” Louis said with amusement as Harry sat down. Harry’s eyes never meeting Louis’. “It looks delicious.”

“Um, thanks,” Harry muttered.

“You’re too easy to mess with,” Louis laughed and shook his head. “We’ve known each other too long to go through that, don’t you think?” Louis raised his eyebrow and smirked.

Harry looked him in the eye, and Louis could see his blush deepening. “Come on, lad,” Louis said. “Let’s eat.” Harry nodded and they both started eating. Louis took a bite and moaned when all the flavors blended in his mouth. “Oh my god, Harry, it’s so good.” He closed his eyes to savor the moment. “I have missed your cooking so much.” Harry chuckled and relaxed slightly.

While eating, they talked briefly about their careers and families. When they finished, Harry had refilled their glasses and they both moved to the couch.

“Okay then,” Louis started as he sat down and made himself comfortable. “Tomorrow we will meet Robert and his attorney. There would also be a mediator who will help us get through the negotiations.”

Harry nodded, so Louis continued, “you have to tell me about every property that you both own, every car and other valuable objects that there might be conflict over. Do you have a bank account on both your names?”

“Um, no, we both have our separate bank accounts.”

“That’s good. What about the properties?”

“We own a house in Beverly Hills together. I don’t think he has anything else.” Harry said. “This house and one in New York are officially owned by my mom, so there should be no problem with that.”

“Why is Anne the owner of your houses?” Louis asked shocked. Saying Harry’s mom’s name felt weird, but Louis didn’t dwell on that.

“I didn’t want my name to figure in the papers because then my address would be in the internet as soon as I purchased it.” He shrugged and took a gulp from his glass.

“What do you want to do with the house in the LA you both own?”

“I don’t want it. He can have it if I’m being honest. I don’t care if he’ll sell it or keep it.” Harry said genuinely and Louis could hear hurt in his voice. He understood Harry wanted to leave behind everything that reminded him of his ex.

Louis nodded. “What about cars or planes or yachts. I don’t know what you - rich people do with your money nowadays,” he wanted to lighten up the atmosphere a little bit and he was glad when he saw the smile forming on Harry’s face.

“I don’t have a private plane. What’s the point when there are so many planes flying everywhere every day? It’s not exactly ecological. I only rent one when I have no other choice.”

“Sorry for even implying that you might have owned one, your ecological highness.” Louis laughed and Harry’s smile deepened so Louis could clearly see his dimples. “What about cars and yachts, then?”

“I don’t own a yacht, Lou,” Harry pretended to scold him. “I’ve got a few cars, though, but I had them before we got married. Will there be a problem with that?”

“No, I don’t think so. So more or less, only the house could be in dispute?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. And you’re sure you don’t want it?” Louis made sure.

“I don’t want it.”

“Okay. It should go pretty quickly then.” He smiled. And after a thought he added, “he’ll probably want to talk to you. You don’t have to agree to anything, okay?” Louis assured him. “You don’t even have to talk, as I’ll be your representative. You’ll just need to sign the papers in the end.”

“Thank you, Louis,” Harry said genuinely. “For being here with me. I don’t think I’d be able to do it alone.”

“I’m glad I can help you. I’m glad you came through that door that day, you know?” Louis smiled at him. “At first I was terrified,” he laughed. “But I’m glad that you’re back in my life.” Louis didn’t know why he decided to make that confession.

“I’m glad too, Lou,” Harry said. “Although I wish the occasion was quite different.” He scowled and started playing with the rings on his fingers. Louis wondered why Harry would wear them when he was staying at home, but he did not dare to ask.

“True that.”

The boys heard a phone ringing upstairs. “It’s not mine,” Harry said as held up his own phone.

“I’ll be right back,” Louis said as he skipped upstairs to his room. He found his phone on the bed under the towel. He looked at the caller id and saw Chad’s name. It was weird. He had a weird feeling that something bad happened. It was after midnight in London.

“Hello?” Louis answered the phone. He felt anxious but he didn’t know where the feeling came from.

“Hi.” It was short and almost emotionless. It confirmed Louis’ fears that something was wrong.

“Hey, what’s up? Is everything okay?” There was a lump in his Louis’ throat. He dreaded the answer but he decided to keep calm.

“I just wanted to ask you something.” It was not a question. It was a statement that meant Louis wouldn’t like it.

“Okay. Ask away.”

“Have you dated Harry?” Chad slurred. There it was. Louis’ heart was banging in his chest. His mouth went dry. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to hide their past relationship forever. He didn’t know why he hadn’t said anything until now.

“Chad, I…” he started with a shaking voice.

“Yes or no? It’s an easy question, Louis.” His voice was harsh and filled with pain.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Why haven’t you told me?”

“I…” Louis wanted to cry at that moment. He wished he knew the answer to that question.

“Did you think I’d forbid you to see him?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then what, Louis? Did you think I’d make you choose? Him or me? Tell me, because my boyfriend is seven thousand miles away in his ex’s house and he didn’t even feel the need to let me know.” He started shouting at that point.

“I know, I should have told you…”

“Damn right you should,” Chad interrupted. “You know what. Maybe that’s what I should do if that’s how low you think of me. I should make you choose. Him or me?”

“You’re not serious right now.” Louis didn’t know what to say. He did not expect that. At all.

“I am. You didn’t trust me enough to say that you two were together, then why should I trust you with you two being there alone.”

“I work for him. I’m not sleeping with him!” Louis was angry. Chad was irrational right now. “I can’t just abandon him. We have a meeting tomorrow.”

“You could do that. But you don’t want to.” Chad paused and added, “I think, you’ve already made a choice. Goodbye Lou,” Chad said. Louis didn’t like that ‘goodbye’. It sounded like a farewell portending a breakup.

“No! Don’t you dare,” Louis shouted but the line went dead. He tried calling again but each call went straight to voicemail. There was a text from Niall and Zayn, but he didn’t want to read them.

He screamed out loud and threw his phone against the wall in anger. He started walking around the room. He stopped in front of the mirror and looked at himself. He felt disgusted with himself. He couldn’t look at his face so at the spur of the moment he punched the mirror.

He felt the agonizing pain as the mirror shattered into pieces. His whole right hand was covered in blood, and he could see the glass shards stuck in the wound. He got dizzy. At that moment Harry burst into the room. It took him a while to acknowledge what had happened.

“Oh my god, Louis.” He exclaimed as he saw Louis’ hand. “What happened?” he asked but Louis did not answer. He was trying so hard not to pass out. “I’m taking you to hospital. Come on.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos! You guys make my day and make me keep writing. 
> 
> Sorry that you had to wait, but I've been away for a few days and I didn't have my laptop with me.
> 
> Hope you like the next chapter!

Harry's pov

Harry couldn’t sit still as he was waiting for a doctor to cleanse Louis’ wounds and put on the stitches. He had called Zayn, so he had a faint idea of what had was the reason, but he was shocked by Louis’ outburst. Nevertheless, he had to take care of Louis, so he had taken Louis to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.

He was pacing near the door when it finally opened. He saw Louis going out followed by a doctor and a nurse. He immediately approached them with a scared look.

“He’ll be okay,” the doctor turned towards Harry. “He just needs to be careful with his hand and come back in a week to pull the stitches off.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure he’ll be careful.” At that doctor left them alone. Harry looked at Louis who seemed to be avoiding Harry’s gaze. He was looking at people sitting in the waiting room as if they were very interesting.

“Lou?” Harry placed a hand on Louis’ shoulder to grab his attention and show, that he had no choice, but look at Harry.

“I don’t wanna talk about it here,” he said quietly finally looking at Harry. His eyes were red and tired. His face was paler than usual, even though he had already tanned a bit while in Los Angeles. “Take me home, please?”

“Of course.” See, Harry couldn’t refuse him or make him talk when it was clear Louis was not up for it. Truth be told, Harry was tired too now that the adrenaline had dropped.

They went towards Harry’s car in silence. Harry opened the door for Louis and once he got in, Harry helped him fasten his seatbelts as he had trouble doing it with only one hand. None of them spoke while in the car. Only soft music coming through the speakers was breaking the silence. The whole ride back Louis was looking out of the side window, making sure to avoid any eye contact and thus any questions.

Halfway through their ride, Harry had remembered Louis asking Harry to take him home. Was it something that Louis said unintentionally or was it because he really felt in Harry’s house at home? Harry sighed because he let himself hope that it did mean something.

When Harry parked in front of the house, Louis was the first one to go out. Harry placed his forehead on the steering wheel and took a few calming breaths. He wanted to help Louis, but he had no idea how. He decided to wait for Louis to ask for whatever he needed. If there was one thing Harry was good at, it was being patient. He got out and followed Louis. He opened the door and let the older boy enter the house.

“Sorry for today,” Louis whispered as they took off their shoes. Louis was pale and his eyes were sunken and lifeless. “I’m going to lie down a little bit.”

“Sure.”

As Louis went upstairs, Harry entered the kitchen and started preparing two teas. It might calm Louis enough to fall asleep easily. Or so Harry hoped.

Harry ascended the stairs with two cups in his hands. He approached the first door on the left and pressed the handle with his elbow. He opened the door slowly as to not make a noise in case Louis was already sleeping.

“I’ve made tea for you,” Harry said as he saw Louis was still awake. He was staring at the shattered glass lying on the floor in the droplets of blood. “Shit, I forgot about the glass. Let me clean that,” Harry said as he placed both cups on the bedside table. He grabbed a brush and dustpan from the storage space in the hall and got down to remove all the shards.

“I’m so sorry about the mirror,” he heard Louis mumble.

“Don’t worry about that. It’s just a mirror.” He cleaned the floor with the towel, so there would be no bloodstains on it. “Do you need anything else?” Harry asked as he turned around to look at Louis.

“Could you stay for a while?” he asked hesitantly. “I just… I don’t wanna be alone.”

Harry didn’t expect that. But he would do everything Louis asked him to. Even if that meant Harry would get hurt again. Louis' happiness was what mattered in that moment. “Sure.” He took his cup and went towards the other side of the bed. He sat down leaning back into the backrest leaving a lot of space between them.

“I am so stupid Harry,” Louis said as he turned around in bed to face Harry. He had fresh tears running down his cheeks.

“Don’t say that.” If there was one thing Harry hated, it was Louis berating himself. He might not be perfect, but Harry was sure Louis was far from stupid. He might have made a mistake or a few mistakes, but that’s the trait of people.

“But it’s the truth,” Louis whined. “I destroy every relationship I’m in.”

Harry sighed. They were skating on a thin ice. Harry couldn’t pretend that Louis had not broken his heart when he had broken up with Harry. But Harry felt that the word ‘destroy’ was a bit hard. The thin was, Louis was giving up instead of fighting for what he believed in.

“You shouldn’t give up so easily, you know? You have to get him back. Fight for him.” Harry smiled sadly. “I don’t know what happened, but I know he loves you. And I know you love him. I’ve seen you looking at each other.”

Louis looked him straight in the eyes. Harry was sure his green eyes betrayed the pain and the longing he felt at that moment. “You’re too good for this world, H. You still try to be my best friend and give me advice on my relationship while you’re still not over ours. Why do I keep hurting the people I care about the most?” He buried his head under the pillow as his sobs grew stronger.

“Hey, hey. C’mere,” Harry said as he scooted over and nudged Louis to lay his head on Harry’s chest. Harry wrapped his arms around the crying boy. “It’s not like you did that intentionally. You just made a few mistakes. After all, we are only humans. It’s what we do. But now you have to learn your lesson and try to make it better.” After a short pause, he added, “just try to fall asleep and tomorrow you’ll decide what you want to do, okay?”

“Yeah,” Louis answered softly.

They stayed there in a silence broken only by Louis’ sporadic sniffles. One of Harry’s hands stroked Louis’ head and the other was wrapped around the boy’s arms. He loved the feeling of Louis’ smaller body pressed against his. But he also hated it, because he knew it was only temporary and he’ll never be able to feel that again.

“Sweet creature. Had another talk about where it’s going wrong.” He started singing quietly, as Louis calmed visibly. He had his eyes closed and he was breathing in a slow, rhythmic pattern.

When Harry finished singing, he made sure Louis was asleep before he untangled from him gently and went to his own bed. Harry shouldn’t have slept in the same bed with Louis if the latter wanted to get Chad back.

As Harry laid down in his bed, he immediately fell asleep. That day was full of events that wore Harry out so he welcomed sleep like an old friend.

***

Harry woke up earlier than usual the next day. He dreaded going to the meeting and he couldn’t sleep because of what had happened with Louis. He got out of bed and went to take a long shower. Rays of the sun were pricking his tired eyes as he undressed.

When he finally entered the shower, he turned the water on and felt the droplets fall on his skin. The first couple of minutes Harry spent standing there with his eyes closed, thinking about meeting Rob hopefully for the last time. He didn’t feel like talking to him at all. He just wanted to get it over with.

The thing that hit Harry the most, was that he didn’t even care that much anymore. Sure, he was broken-hearted that he had found his husband cheating on him, but he felt kind of… relieved? Harry couldn’t name that feeling, but he no longer felt like he was trapped. And he got his four best friends back thanks to this unfortunate event.

During the years he had spent in Los Angeles, he had a lot of friends as he partied a lot. He wasn’t sure if the people he would call his friends liked him because of who he was or if they liked him based on his character. He hadn’t minded that then. He was heartbroken after Louis broke up with him, and he had to get away from everyone.

But now that he had the boys back, he realised he had missed being just Harry around them. They didn’t expect anything from him. They did not pretend around him to be someone they weren’t, so Harry didn’t have to do that either. And this feeling was amazing.

Harry had to admit he liked having Louis back too. Louis was this really funny and genuine person, that you always wanted to be around. Harry just hoped that the previous day’s activities won’t change anything between them.

After drying himself and wrapping his hair in a towel, he went downstairs towards the kitchen. He decided to make breakfast for him and Louis to occupy himself for a while.

He placed every ingredient for pancakes on the counter. He mixed all the dry ingredients in the bowl and then added egg, milk, and butter. Next, he placed the pan on the stove and heated it to medium heat.

While cooking pancakes, he heard Louis approaching. He turned his head towards the doorway, and he saw the boy come in. Louis had red eyes, his hair was messier than usual and he had a frown on his face.

“Hey,” Harry greeted carefully. “How are you feeling? How’s your hand?”

Louis looked at him as if his state wasn’t enough to answer Harry’s questions. He sighed and sat at the table. “Honestly?” Louis stammered. “Like shit.” He placed his head in his hands and groaned. “My hand is killing me and so is my head. And I'm so sorry that I dragged you into this mess.”

Harry turned off the heat and took two plates with the pancakes and approached the table. He put them down and crouched in front of Louis. Harry put his hand on Louis' shoulder.

“Hey, look at me,” he asked softly. Louis looked up and their eyes met. His blue eyes had lost its usual shine. They were dull. Sad. “You don’t have to apologize for that. I’m glad I could help and that you weren’t alone.”

“I still feel like shit about it,” Louis shrugged. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“First you need to eat something,” Harry said as he stood up and took a sit in front of Louis. “And then if you want, we can change your flight, so you’d take the first plane back to England.”

“But what about your meeting?” Louis asked skeptically as he took the fork and began eating. “I can’t exactly fly now.”

“I could call some other attorney,” Harry offered. “I bet it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s not happening, Harry,” Louis said sternly. “I’ll book a flight after the meeting. The few hours won’t make a difference.”

Harry was torn. He didn’t want Louis to leave. He didn’t want Louis to get back with Chad. He wanted to get what he used to have with Louis. And Chad was the only thing that stood in his way. But he had to remind himself, that he couldn’t be unfair. It was not about him first of all. He was a good friend.

“Are you sure?” Harry swallowed a bite and looked down at his plate. He wished he could take the opportunity. But that would be a bad thing to do. Louis was vulnerable, and that’s not what friends do. And Harry couldn’t lose Louis again.

“Yeah. We have to get you out of your relationship first, and then I’ll fight for mine.” Although Louis’ words seemed to be firm, they both knew that was far from the truth. They did not drag this topic. They ate the rest of the pancakes in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

***

After the meal, they went to their separate bedrooms to get dressed. Harry put on black trousers and a printed button-down shirt. As always, he left some buttons undone. He wanted to look good. To show Robert, that he had not affected Harry in any way.

Harry took his wallet and his phone and went downstairs. He had put on his shoes and put on a jacket before Louis appeared. He was wearing one of his suits Harry saw him wearing at work and he had to admit he looked good in it. Although Louis’ eyes were slightly red, he seemed focused and determined.

Harry snapped back to reality as Louis asked, “Ready to go?” Harry felt the heat on his cheeks and cursed himself for getting distracted by Louis so easily. Louis’ brow rose slightly, and his lips quirked confirming that he saw Harry checking him out.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Harry took his car keys and left the house. He wouldn't need any distraction especially if he were about to meet Chad in an hour. He had to be focused so that he won’t snap or say something he might regret.

When they entered the car, Harry started the ignition and drove down the busy streets of Los Angeles. The soft sounds coming out of speakers were the only ones disturbing the silence, but neither of them minded.

Harry was getting more nervous with each passing minute. He thought about his husband, soon to be ex. They were good at first. Or so Harry thought. Looking back, he couldn’t point the time their marriage had started to fall apart. Was he that ignorant of what had been happening around him? Harry sighed and tried to clear his head from all the thoughts.

After twenty minutes ride, Harry parked his car on the underground parking near the court. They both got out and headed towards the lifts.

“You okay?” Harry turned to look at Louis, whose forehead was creased with worry and compassion.

Harry scrunched his nose and shrugged. “As much as I can be in this situation, I guess.” At that moment, the doors opened and they both entered the lift. Harry pressed the third-floor button and the doors closed.

“Just remember that I’m there with you, okay?” Louis said softly. “You don’t even have to talk to him or anything. I’ll try to take care of it as fast as possible.” Harry nodded in acknowledgment. Louis’ words were soothing. Or was it his voice? Or maybe the fact that he was there beside Harry. Probably all of the above. Louis always made Harry feel strong. Even after all those years. Was it so wrong?

As the bell rung announcing they reached the floor, they left the lift and went down the hall in search of the right room. There were a lot of people, but none of them seemed to recognise Harry. He didn’t need any fuss, to be honest. He wanted to do everything as quietly as possible.

The truth was it had been hard to keep anything in the dark. His fans managed to find out a lot of things that he’d rather not share with the world. Sometimes he had wondered if they worked in the FBI or something like that. He loved his fans, but sometimes he needed a break from all the fuss.

When they reached the right door, Louis opened them and gestured Harry to walk inside. “After you.” Louis sent Harry a consoling smile before he put on the serious expression on his face.

The room was medium size. In the middle, there was a huge oval table for 10 people. There were big windows overlooking the busy streets of Los Angeles. There were already three people inside the room.

At the head of the table sat an older man who must have been a mediator. He had the case files laid out on the table in front of him. To his right, facing the door, sat Robert and his attorney. As Harry walked in Robert’s eyes automatically found his. Harry stopped a few steps from the table, as he suddenly couldn’t move.

The memory of walking in on Robert with some other guy came flooding back. Harry felt the anger and sadness filling him up until he felt a comforting hand on his back. He looked at Louis who put a little pressure on Harry’s back to make him approach the table.

As they sat down Harry refused to look at Robert and turned his attention towards the mediator. “Good morning, gentlemen. The purpose of this meeting is to appoint the division of wealth between Mr. Styles and Mr. Davis, related to the divorce case number 19273. Is that correct?” The older man started.

Both attorneys confirmed and the mediator continued, “do any of you gentlemen have conditions or comments that you’d like to point out at this stage of mediation?”

Louis denied but at the same time Robert said, “I want to speak to my husband alone.” Harry’s head snapped in Robert’s direction. “Please, Harry. Can we talk?” He looked at Harry with a poor imitation of puppy eyes, but Harry would not get fooled. What is more, Harry felt sick that he even had the audacity to request that.

“Absolutely not,” Louis said sternly. “My client does not want to do that.” Harry knew it was Robert's only chance to get them to talk. That’s why he wanted to get a mediator. Either way, Harry wouldn’t even be here in the first place.

“Come on, Harry.” Robert refused to give up that easily. He used to get whatever he wanted. Always. It was always his way. Harry would always agree to everything, but this time he didn’t feel like it. He didn’t need to listen to any more lies that Robert would tell him.

“No,” Harry said and turned towards the man.

“For fucks sake, Harry. I just want to talk!” Robert burst out and Harry flinched.

“Mr. Davis, calm down or we will continue without you,” the man said sternly. As Robert apologized, the man continued, “let’s move on with the case then.”

Harry hadn’t uttered a single word for the rest of the meeting. They had established that Harry did not want any of the shared possessions. Robert had been angry with Harry for not wanting to talk, so he tried to get even more from the divorce given that Harry had a lot of money, but Louis was adamant, and Harry was extremely glad Louis was there with him.

When they got through all the paperwork, the mediator gathered all the files and left the room after saying his farewell. They got up, and Harry felt the relief overtaking his body. He was finally free.

“You okay?” Harry glanced at Louis who looked concerned. Harry just nodded, and they turned towards the door.

“Harry, wait!” Harry froze in a place and stayed with his back turned to Robert. “I just wanted to talk. Can’t you at least give me that?”

“Leave him alone. He doesn’t want to talk to you.” Harry could hear the anger in Louis' voice. Harry closed his eyes as if waiting for a blow.

“I’m not talking to you, shorty,” Robert snorted. “Last time I checked Harry knew how to talk. Or does he need his lapdog to fight his wars?”

“Shut up Rob,” Harry snapped as he turned around. He saw red at that moment. Robert could say all he wanted about Harry, but he won’t let him talk badly about his friends. “You’ve never learned when to shut your mouth, have you?”

“I just wanted to talk. To apologise. Fight for us. But I can see you’ve already got a replacement for me.” Robert started shouting now. He even pushed his attorney away when he wanted to calm Chad down. “Don’t think I haven’t seen your little glances.”

“Don’t talk about the things you have no idea about,” Harry’s voice dropped an octave in a warning. Pissed Harry was terrifying, and nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of his anger. “You’re an idiot, you know that, right? It’s you who cheated on me and you have the nerve to act all jealous now?! Grow the fuck up!”

“Come on, Harry,” Louis said as he nudged him to move. “There’s no point.” Harry turned around and let Louis lead him out of the room.

“What a fucking dick,” Harry muttered. He wanted to punch something to vent his anger that boiled in his veins.

“But the good thing is, that you won’t have to see him ever again.” Louis sighed. “Never thought you’d end up marrying someone like that.”

Harry looked straight into Louis' eyes as he said, “me neither.” There was anger in Harry's eyes, but also a hint of sadness and accusation. As soon as he said that he averted his gaze so that he wouldn’t take out his anger on Louis. That’s the last thing he wanted to do.

They went the rest of the way in the silence. Harry tried to take a few deep calming breaths. Near the car, Harry snapped out of his thoughts, as Louis demanded the car keys. “What?” Harry asked confused.

“Give me your keys,” Louis said as he held out his hand. “You cannot drive in this state. Believe it or not, I don’t want to die today.”

“Fine.” Harry gave Louis his keys and climbed the passenger seat in the front. “You don’t know the way.” He added as Louis set the seat and car mirrors to get comfortable. Harry always used to tease him about being smaller, but that day he didn’t feel like it.

“I’ll manage,” Louis said as he started the car. They drove in silence through the busy streets. It took them twice as much time to get to Harry’s house due to the traffic. As Louis parked in the driveway, they sat there in silence for a while. Neither seemed to want to get out of the car yet as. They wanted to say something but weren’t sure what.

“You okay?” Louis said softly. Harry looked at him and saw concern in those blue eyes. The eyes that kept haunting Harry in his dream. But in his dreams, they were full of love and fire. Never sad.

“Yeah.” Harry closed his eyes and rested his head on the headrest. “Sorry I lashed out on you like that. I shouldn’t have let him affect me like that.”

“No, don’t be. I totally understand. I wanted to punch him right there. He’s a piece of shit.”

“Yeah.” Harry sighed. “I’m just glad it’s over. Thank you, Lou.” He opened his eyes and looked straight at Louis.

“It’s my job.” He shrugged.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Harry shook his head. “I meant as a friend. I really needed a friend. I’m glad we talk again, you know? I really missed that.” After a short pause, he added quieter, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Haz.” Louis gave him a reassuring smile and put his hand on Harry’s. His hand was much smaller than Harry’s, but they fitted perfectly together. Like puzzles. Harry could see the hint of a tattoo on the skin not covered by Louis’ sleeve. He remembered the time they had gone to take this tattoo in LA. Harry had got a tattoo that day too. They would always get tattoos together. It used to be their thing.

“We should go inside,” Harry pointed at the time on the radio. “What time do you have your flight?”

“In three hours.” They stepped out of the car and went towards the front doors.

“Shit, I won’t be able to get you there. I’ve got a meeting with my management. I’ll call my driver to get you there,” Harry said as he opened the doors and let Louis inside.

“You don’t have to. I’ll just call a cab.”

“No, I insist. I have to leave in half an hour, so I’m going to take a quick shower and change.”

Half an hour later they both stood in Harry’s hallway. Louis was leaning on the wall, watching Harry get ready to leave. As Harry took all his things, he looked at Louis and passed him a key.

“Harold, are you asking me to move in with you?” Louis said with a fake shock, but Harry could hear the hint of laughter in his voice.

“Not quite.” He shook his head. “It’s my spare key. Just give it back whenever. Or give it to the driver.”

“And here I thought you were giving me your house.” Louis sighed dramatically. “To be honest it would be nice as I’m homeless right now. Don't you have one in London?” Although Louis was joking, Harry knew it was his way of dealing with everything. Hiding behind jokes.

“Stop it. Everything will be fine, okay?” Harry said as he gave the smaller boy a hug. “Fight for him. And let me know how it went, okay? I’ll be flying back tomorrow evening.”

“Yeah,” Louis confirmed and Harry left the house leaving Louis alone. He wanted to go back with Louis. They had a nice time during the flight to LA. And tomorrow Harry would be left to his thoughts only. That didn’t bode well. With that thought, Harry entered his car and drove to his management’s building.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thank you for your comments and kudos. It means a lot that you like it as it's my first ff.  
> I'll try to write more so that you won't have to wait so long for other chapters.  
> This one is with the dreaded confrontation. Enjoy!

Louis' pov

After eleven hours of flight, Louis was exhausted. Sitting in the most uncomfortable seat of the economy class had not helped. He had been constantly drifting off and waking up as there were a lot of children in the cabin, who shouted, cried, or were loud in general.

After taking his bag, he headed towards the exit. As he was looking around the arrival hall, he spotted Zayn leaning nearby the exit doors. He looked bored occupied with his phone. “Hey. Thanks for coming, mate.” Louis said as he approached the dark-haired man.

Zayn looked up from his phone and smiled slightly. “No problem. You know you can always count on me.” Zayn hugged Louis and they turned to leave the airport. “How are you doing? You don’t look to good.” Worry lined his forehead.

“Terrible,” Louis groaned. They put Louis’ luggage in the trunk and entered Zayn’s car. As Zayn jammed the car into gear and drove towards his house, Louis told him everything that had happened last two days.

He told him about staying at Harry’s and their conversation at night. He told him about the phone call with Chad and hitting the mirror which resulted in a visit to the hospital. He even mentioned asking Harry to stay with him when they were back and Harry singing him to sleep. He told him about the encounter with Harry’s now ex-husband and how Harry burst with anger when Rob insulted Louis.

Louis felt the need to get everything from his chest. And who better than Zayn to listen to him? Zayn was excellent when it came to listening and he gave the best advices. He knew Louis like no one else. And Louis was really confused about the whole situation he was in. He was confused about his feelings towards Harry and Chad.

Truth be told, Harry coming back to his life brought back the feelings Louis’ thought he got rid of many years ago. Being in Harry’s company made him think of all the years they spent as friends and as a couple and he missed those years. But he loved Chad. He really did. They might not have been soulmates, but they were really good together.

“What are you planning to do now?” Asked Zayn as he parked in front of his small bungalow. He had told Louis, that he could stay with Zayn and Liam as long as he needed to. That was really sweet of him, but Louis hoped, that it won’t be needed. Zayn’s place was really small, and Louis didn’t want to be a bother. Besides, he hoped he would make up with Chad.

“First I need to take a shower,” Louis said as he took his bag from the trunk. “Then I have to talk to Chad and get him back.” Zayn nodded once, but he didn’t look convinced it’s the right thing to do. He rubbed his chin, but he did not voice his thoughts.

They entered the brick house, which was no different from other houses located on the same street. The charms of living in England. Note the sarcasm. Although the façade of the house was not special, you couldn’t say that about the interior. Louis loved Zayn’s house because it was really cozy and it was like his second home. Boys had spent many years bringing it back to its present state.

Louis left his bag in the living room and went to get a shower. After he was done, he put on some fresh clothes and went to the kitchen. Zayn was sitting at the table with a mug filled with a black coffee in his right hand and an iPhone in his left hand. There was a plate with sandwiches placed in the center of the round table.

“Made us some sandwiches for lunch,” Zayn said as he placed the phone down and took a sip. “Thought you might be hungry after the fight.”

“You’re the best,” Louis said as he sat down and got down to eating. He was starving. The food on the plane was disgusting. “Would you mind giving me a lift later?” Louis inquired.

“Sure.” After a short break, Zayn added, “have you thought this through, though?”

“What do you mean?” Louis raised his brow in confusion. “You think I shouldn’t fight for us?”

“That’s not it. I just want to know that you know what you're doing.” Zayn shrugged as he took the last sip. He put the cup on the table and crossed his arms.

“I’m sure,” Louis said sternly. He didn’t know if he used the tone to convince Zayn or himself. “I’m not going to let go this time that easily. I destroyed one relationship and I don’t want to destroy another one.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Lou, I love Chad like a brother. He’s great, but he’s not Harry. Harry’s your soulmate, lad. What I’m trying to say is that maybe you’ve chosen the wrong man to fight for.” Zayn said hesitantly. He was playing with his fingers laying on the tabletop.

Louis sat there speechless. He didn’t expect Zayn to say that. He was the one that helped Louis get over Harry and now he was implying that he should get Harry back? It wasn’t helpful at all. Louis was already confused about the whole situation without Zayn saying out loud what he had in the back of his mind.

“I love Chad,” Louis muttered.

“But are you in love with him?” Zayn asked. “Not to offend you, but it seems like you’re in this relationship because it’s convenient. Do you see yourself with him in ten years’ time? Do you want to get married to him? Want to have a proper family?”

“Stop it, Zayn. I’m not changing my mind.” Louis was starting to get annoyed. He didn’t know why. Maybe because Zayn had hit a sensitive spot. Louis would always dismiss the thoughts about starting a family with Chad. They had a lot of time for that. “Will you give me a lift or should I call a taxi?” he huffed.

“I will.” The tension was noticeable in the room but neither of them tried to break the silence. They left the house and drove to Chad’s house.

As Louis was about to leave the car, Zayn said, “please, don’t be mad at me. You know I love you, and I want you to be happy. If that’s what will make you happy then that’s the only thing that matters.”

Louis looked at his brown, sad eyes and could hear the sincerity in said words. “I know, Z. I love you too. And I’m not mad. But I’m sure about this.” The truth was, he wasn’t sure anymore. But he couldn’t give up now. That was his only chance.

“Okay then. Good luck. Call me if you’ll need anything.” Louis nodded and closed the passenger’s doors. He followed Zayn’s car with his eyes until it disappeared from his view. He turned around and looked at the house in front of him. He had been living there for more than a year now. He liked living there. He had many good memories related to this place.

He approached the doors and rung a bell. He had waited a bit before Chad opened the door. He was still wearing his work clothes, as he must have gotten home recently.

“Hi,” Louis croaked. His throat was dry from the nerves. “Can we talk?”

Chad nodded and stepped back, letting Louis come inside. They made their way towards the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink?” were the first words the man uttered emotionless.

“Water, thank you.” Chad filled two glasses with water and they both sat down at the table in front of each other.

“What happened?” Chad asked as he pointed Louis’ hand wrapped in a bandage.

“A little accident with the mirror.”

Chad just nodded and did not ask any more questions about it. He probably knew. “You wanted to talk.” He said thickly as he raked his fingers through his hair. It was clear he wanted to go straight to the point. It was not an easy encounter for both of them.

“Yes,” said Louis as he fiddled with the hem of his sleeve. “I wanted to apologize. For not telling you the truth about me and Harry. But I have not cheated on you. You know I love you.”

“I haven’t said anything about you cheating on me. But you lied to me.” Chad’s voice was getting stronger with emotions. “How would you feel if you learned from my best friends that I flew to the other end of the world with my other friend who happens to be my ex? And everybody knew but you?”

“I meant to tell you, but I just didn’t know how.” Louis sighed. “I know I’m stupid. I should have done that the day you invited him to hang out with us.”

“Don’t even try to turn this around. If you gave me a hint, I wouldn’t invite him to hang out with us. If only I knew the truth,” He snorted. “I should have known that something was up when he looked at me like I killed his cat. I thought he was jealous that all of you replaced him with me, but now I can see that he was jealous of you. I’m such an idiot.”

“I said I was sorry.” Louis tried again. “What do you want me to say?”

“Louis, you lied to me. Relationships don’t work like that. I thought we told each other everything. How do you want me to trust you after all of this mess?” Chad asked resigned. His eyes betrayed the pain that he felt.

“Just give me another chance, please.”

“You know what’s funny? I wanted to propose to you this weekend. I planed it for two weeks.” Chad shook his head. “I booked a reservation in our favourite restaurant.”

“What?” Louis was shocked. He did not expect that. His heart started to beat furiously in his chest.

“I know we talked about waiting a little bit more, but I wanted to make it official. I always looked at Zayn and Liam and envied them. So I thought, why not? We love each other, so what’s stopping us? But maybe it was only me.”

“I do love you,” Louis said sternly.

“But would you do it?”

“What?” A tendril of panic seized his chest.

“Would you say yes if I kneeled down on one knee right now? Would you agree on spending the rest of your life with me?” Chad looked expectantly at Louis.

Louis felt like in a trap. His palms were damp. He came here to get back with Chad, but it felt like his boyfriend was giving him an ultimatum at that moment. Either they get married or they break up “You’re making me choose?”

“I asked a simple question. I just want to know if we are on the same page.” Chad said softly. “I’m willing to give it a try, but I want to be sure.”

“I – “ Louis didn’t know what to say. His mind kept screaming it was too early. He didn’t want to get married yet. It was unfair that Chad made him decide at that moment. Relationships were not about making ultimatums.

“I think,” Chad started sadly, “that we both know the answer to that question.” They were looking at each other with sadness written on both faces. Louis opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted by Chad continuing, “We want different things from this relationship, and truth be told, I don’t wanna be led on.”

“But – “ Louis breathed. The tears were welling up in his eyes. He felt heartbroken.

“No, Louis. There’s no point to fool ourselves. You don’t want to get married and I understand that, but you have to understand that it’s important to me.” Chad shook his head.

“Then this is it,” Louis said resigned. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

“I guess.” Chad nodded. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.” When Louis didn’t answer, Chad added, “I’ll be in the living room. You can leave you’re key in the hallway when you’re finished with packing.” With those words, he got up and left Louis alone in the kitchen.

Louis hid his head in his hands and felt hot tears streaming down his cheeks. He was angry and sad and disgusted at the same time. Why couldn’t he agree to marry Chad? Why was he so opposed to getting married?

He wiped his cheeks with the back of his sleeve and stood up. He went upstairs to the bedroom and packed his things to the travel suitcase. He did not have many things aside from clothes. Just a few books and CDs. He went downstairs and stopped in the doorway leading to the living room.

Chad sat in the armchair with his back turned towards Louis. The TV was on, but he was not watching it. His head was placed on his knees, and his arms were wrapped around his legs. He was sniffling, but Louis didn’t know what he could say to make it better.

He turned towards the front door and got closer to the shoe cabinet standing next to the doors. He took a bunch of keys from his pocket and unhooked the keys to Chad's house. He placed them on the cabinet and left the house.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry's pov

Harry’s plane landed in London on Saturday morning. His driver was already waiting for him in Heathrow terminal and after taking his bags, they took to the busy streets of London straight to Harry’s new apartment that he had bought a week after he had come back to London more than a month ago.

He liked living with his mom, but he wanted to have his own place. He had received a message the previous day that his apartment was fully decorated, and all his belongings had already been moved there.

The penthouse was placed in one of the skyscrapers in the city center. It was a two-story apartment with a terrace and an amazing view of London. The view was what helped him make up his mind about choosing this apartment. He loved London especially at night, and he would be able to spend the evenings wrapped in his fluffy blanket, drinking wine and looking at that beautiful city.

After a one-hour drive from the airport, they finally got to the building. The driver helped him with his suitcase and he entered the building. He approached the lobby desk and collected his card to the lift and door keys. The lift was designed to only allow access to a resident’s specific floor so he was sure he would be safe there and nobody unauthorized would be able to get to his flat.

When he entered the apartment, he took in all the changes that he had requested. He had decided to slightly change the interior so it would feel more like home. Most of the walls were painted white but some of them were light grey.

The living room had a huge grey couch in the shape of ‘U’ in the center facing the enormous TV hanging above the tv sideboard, where Harry would put some of his photos and his favorite candles.

The living room was open to the kitchen that had an enormous island. Harry liked cooking whenever he had time, so he wanted to have a big kitchen where he could get carried away by his imagination.

He bought a brand-new piano for the new apartment and he had no idea how they had managed to transport it to his apartment, but he was glad that it was there. It looked really good, standing there in the living room. Classy. Besides, he was sure that the view outside the windows would inspire him to write new songs.

Next to the piano stood a guitar stand with his favorite acoustic guitar. It was the guitar he had received as a gift from Louis when he had just started his singing career. It was his most valuable possession. On the other side of the piano, there was an exit to the terrace.

Apart from the joined kitchen and living room, there was another room on that floor, that was filled with bookshelves floor to ceiling. There was a small couch in the center and two armchairs. The bookshelves were still partially empty, but Harry would gradually fill them with the books. He always wanted to have his private library.

Upstairs there were two bedrooms each with an adjoined bathroom. Two bedrooms had seemed like a great idea. First of all, he could always let people stay over, and having more than two bedrooms seemed unnecessary. Harry was proud of his new flat.

Before he started unpacking the boxes, he looked at his phone to check for any new messages. He had sent few texts to Louis asking how his encounter had gone, but there was no response. He decided to text Zayn and try to get any information.

He connected his phone via Bluetooth to the speakers located in the living room and played his favorite playlist containing the best hits from the 60s and 70s. He took the boxes containing his books and went to the library. He started placing the books on the shelves.

He had his own book stacking system. Firstly, they had to be sorted by the cover’s colors with books from the same author standing next to each other. Secondly, he placed some books vertically and then some of them horizontally on top of each other, so that it varied a little bit. Thirdly, the books he loved the most had to be in the center so that he had the easiest access to them.

Call him crazy, but he liked this system and was extremely proud of how the bookshelves looked when he was done. He had a lot of free shelves that he would temporarily fill with photo frames, plants, and souvenirs he collected from the places he visited throughout the years.

When he went back to take care of other boxes, he heard a notification sound. He went to get his phone and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As he unlocked his phone, he saw a text from Zayn. He clicked on it and read the whole message.

Basically, what Zayn wrote, was that Louis was sitting all day in his pj’s eating ice cream and watching crappy movies. That meant he and Chad were not together anymore. Zayn did not elaborate on what had happened.

Happiness and hope filled his heart. Louis was not in a relationship anymore. Maybe if he… At that moment Harry felt extremely guilty. He was disgusted with himself. Louis' boyfriend broke up with him a few days ago and Harry was already planning to make a move. _Get a grip_ , he scolded himself.

After he cleared his thoughts, he texted Zayn back, that they should have a boy’s night that night, and that they could come to Harry’s new apartment and get drunk like they used to. They shouldn’t let Louis separate himself from reality and he definitely would do with some fun.

After ten minutes he got a text back from Zayn to send him his address. Harry replied and then texted Niall about the plans. Harry was glad that he had renewed his contacts with the boys. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a night in with his friends with cheap beers, pizza, and crappy movies. His LA friends preferred parties so they would go out a lot. Few nights a week at least.

A few hours later Harry was done with the unpacking. He had an hour left before the boys were supposed to come. He ordered five pizzas, each one with different toppings, cause they all had different favorites. Or at least they used to.

After that, Harry decided to take a shower and put on more comfortable clothes. When it was nearing 8 pm, Harry got a call from a doorman, that the pizza guy had come. Harry took his wallet and went downstairs to get the food. As he was paying the pizza guy, the front door opened, and he saw his four friends come in.

Niall was carrying two bags filled with bottles of beer and Liam had a bag with snacks. It’s good they had thought of bringing it because Harry wasn’t sure what was in his cupboards in the kitchen. He asked people to fill his cabinets, ‘cause he knew he wouldn’t have the energy to go shopping after the flight.

“Hello there.” Harry smiled at them. They all smiled at him as they replied but Louis. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked really tired. And sad. Harry hoped he would loosen him up a bit later on.

“Sick! You’ve got pizza!” Niall exclaimed excitedly. “You haven’t told us you’ve got a new place.”

“Um, yeah,” Harry shrugged. “I’ve just got back today and got a message that it’s ready to move in, so yeah.” He ushered them to the lift and then pressed the button with his floor number. Shortly after they reached his door. As Harry opened the door, he said jokingly, “Welcome to my humble abode.”

“Humble my ass,” exclaimed Niall, as they entered the apartment.

“If that’s humble to you then I don’t know how your other houses look,” said Zayn sarcastically as they placed the food and beers on the kitchen island.

“They look amazing. At least the one I saw in LA.” Louis chimed in. “Not that this one doesn’t look amazing, because it does.” He smirked. He seemed to be slightly better than when Harry saw him downstairs.

“You can look around if you want. I’ll prepare the snacks in the meantime.” Harry said to the boys and pointing at the bags.

“Hell yes!” Niall jumped excitedly and three boys left the kitchen.

Harry looked up from the bags and saw Louis standing near the window looking at the sunset. Harry walked closer leaving a foot of space between him and Louis. “How are you?” He said quietly so that Louis could pretend he hadn’t heard if he didn’t want to talk.

“Honestly?” Louis inquired still looking at the sunset. “I don’t really know.” He sighed. “I’m mad at myself for letting him slip away, but at the same time… relieved?”

Harry was surprised to hear that. He arched his brow and let himself study Louis’ profile bathed in the rays of the sun. He looked beautiful. Even though he was tired and had dark circles under his eyes, he looked really handsome and rugged. And golden.

“I don’t know what Zayn told you, but Chad gave me an ultimatum. Well maybe not an ultimatum per se, but he told me that he was supposed to propose this weekend and asked me if I would agree.” Louis continued, his voice cracking a little bit.

Harry was shocked. Thousand thoughts filled his brain and he wanted to scream. _How could Chad give Louis an ultimatum like that? How could Chad ask Louis to marry him in the first place?_ He clenched his fists but stayed silent.

“And I just couldn’t. I always told myself I’m not ready to get married. That I’m too young. But that’s farfetched, innit? I was ready to marry you so many years ago, and now I’m saying I’m too young to do just that?” He snorted. “I think I just wasn’t ready to marry him. And I probably would never be ready to marry him, to be honest.”

Harry was opening his mouth to reply when the other three boys came back. “This place is sick!” Niall said. Harry looked at approaching boys. He saw Zayn looking suspiciously between Louis and himself as he was sure Zayn knew the boys interrupted the talk. But other boys didn’t seem to notice the heavy air in the room.

“It really is great,” Liam agreed. “I think we’ll be coming here more often from now on.”

“You know you’re always welcome,” Harry said as he moved to take pizza boxes and place them on the coffee table in front of the couch. Niall took the beers and the opener Harry had managed to find in the drawer beforehand. They all piled in on the couch and started eating pizza while sipping beer.

“What are we watching?” Liam asked from the other side of the couch pressed against Zayn. They were a really cute couple. Louis and Harry would always presume that the pair would end up together. But both of them seemed oblivious at the time. He wondered what had happened that made them realize their mutual attraction.

Next to them sat Louis with his legs placed on the coffee table. He was already halfway through his beer. Between Harry and Louis sat Niall cross-legged with his mouth full of pizza.

“You can choose something,” said Harry as he threw Liam the remote. Harry took a slice of pizza from the box and laid down comfortably. He kept thinking about what Louis told him. About being ready to get married to Harry. They would be married by now if only Louis hadn’t broken up with Harry. It hurt to think about.

After at least fifteen minutes of scrolling through Netflix, Liam chose the hobbit movie. Harry liked the trilogy, but those movies were really long. The first movie they spent in a merry atmosphere. They would make jokes about the movie, eat snacks, and drink beer. In the middle of the second movie, the atmosphere calmed down significantly, each of them tired. Louis fell asleep not so long after playing the second one. He must have been really knackered to fall asleep before midnight. When the second movie ended, they decided to call it a night.

“Don’t wake him up,” Harry whispered as Zayn approached sleeping Louis with the intention of waking him up. The brown-eyed boy looked up at Harry with confusion. “He was really tired when you got here, and I think you should let him rest. He can sleep here. I’ve got a spare bedroom if he wakes up and wants to move from the couch.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Zayn nodded and they moved to the front door. “Thanks for inviting us, H. It was just like the old times.” Zayn smiled and hugged him, and then Niall and Liam joined the hug.

“We really missed, you,” Liam added. “It’s good you’re back.”

“Don’t you dare leave us again,” Niall added threateningly, but Harry could see the smile forming on his lips.

“I missed you too, guys. You have no idea. It’s so good to be back.” Harry smiled and saw them off to the lift.

When the doors opened, they packed up inside, and before the doors closed, Zayn added, “you still got a chance, Harry. Don’t take it for granted.” And with that, the doors closed leaving Harry flabbergasted.

Harry returned to his flat and checked on Louis. He was snoring slightly with his head lying flat on his hands. He looked vulnerable with his mouth slightly open. His long, dark lashes rested softly on his cheeks. Sometimes he would squint his eyes or move slightly.

Harry went to his bedroom to get the blanket from the wardrobe. He covered Louis with his pink fluffy blanket and smiled at his lying form. He quite liked seeing Louis in his new flat. He wished he would stay there for more than just one night.

Harry took one last longing look towards the sleeping creature and sashayed towards the alcohol stashed in the cabinet in the kitchen. He poured the amber liquor over the bottom of the tumbler and walked out on the terrace, turning the lights off in the room. He walked toward the edge of the balcony and leaned forward on the railing.

The city was spreading for miles in every direction, lit by thousands of lights that looked like flickering fireflies. He was surrounded by silence, interrupted by the occasional sounds of lonely cars gliding through the city.

Harry took a sip from the tumbler, feeling a keen burn on his tongue and in his throat - a burn that brought needed relief. It turned down the volume of his thoughts swirling in his head. But still, it couldn’t mute Zayn’s voice saying he still had a chance.

But he was no longer sure about it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's my birthday today and what a better way to celebrate it than to post a new chapter?  
> I know it's a kinda slow burn, but please, bear with me. We've got a few more chapters to go.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Louis' pov

Upon waking, Louis noticed 3 things. First of all, he was not in his apartment. Second of all, his head was pounding. Third of all, he needed to go pee. Like he needed to go right now.

He rubbed the remainders of sleep from his eyes and opened them slowly to take in his surroundings. He knew instantly where he was and what was the reason of his headache. He was at Harry’s place. They had had a lad’s night and he must have drunk too many bears. Obviously.

It was the middle of the night and even though only the moonlight lit up the room, he could clearly see the outline of the furniture. He staggered to his feet, swaying a little bit before he went to the bathroom to relieve his bladder. He looked through cabinets in search of painkillers, and then swallowed them down drinking water from the tap. He splashed some water on his face and left the bathroom.

As soon as he walked into the living room, he looked for his phone. It was squashed behind the pillows on the couch. He checked the time and realized it was only around 2 am. He must not have slept for a long time then.

He looked around once again, this time paying more attention to the room. It looked as clean as when they entered the apartment. There was no sign of empty pizza boxes or beer bottles lying around.

As he looked out through the floor-length windows, he saw a dark figure leaning against the railings. Harry. He stood with his back to the Louis, so he was not aware Louis was awake.

Since Louis was no longer tired, he decided to join the lone figure. He opened the sliding doors slightly and squeezed through them. If Harry had heard the movement, he didn’t let it show. Louis breathed in the cold summer night and let it out slowly in a calming manner. He stood next to Harry, mirroring his pose.

They stood there in silence, taking in the sight that spread before them. London at night was more beautiful than it was during the day. It was quiet, as if inside a bubble, where the time stopped, and nothing really mattered. The only indicator that the time passed was the Big Ban that Louis could see in the distance.

Louis looked at Harry interested in what he was doing here alone at this hour. “Why are you not sleeping?” Louis said, breaking the silence around them.

Harry was staring at the distance, closing his eyes for a bit every time the gentle breeze blew their way as if to savor the feeling. “Jet lag,” he answered softly, not looking at Louis. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Louis nodded not really caring if Harry had seen it. Harry didn’t seem to mind Louis interrupting his peaceful night, but judging by his short answer, he didn’t feel like talking.

Louis wanted to ask him so many things. He wanted to know how Harry was feeling after meeting his ex-husband. He also wondered, how went his meeting with the management and what it was about. But he did not ask any of those questions. Mostly because his headache hadn’t stopped and also because he appreciated the silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. On the contrary, it felt good.

They stood there for quite some time when Harry finally asked, “do you remember summer ’09?” Louis thought at first that he might have imagined him saying that.

“Of course, I do.” Louis smiled softly at the memories. “It was the first time the five of us went camping. Your mother almost didn’t let you go.” The corners of his mouth turned up. “I had to promise like a thousand times I’ll take care of you,” he chuckled.

“Yeah,” Harry hummed.

“What about it?” Louis asked curiously. He had a faint idea what Harry was thinking about but he wasn’t sure where this talk would lead them.

“I was thinking about the evening we spent by the bonfire. Talking about the future and if we would still be mates after all this time.” Harry paused before he added softly, “I never thought I’d get you back. All of you.” His voice was raspy from the emotions that overtook him.

Louis did not say anything. He just stood there watching Harry’s profile as a soft crease appeared between his eyes. They had been young and full of hope that everything will always stay the same. But the truth was, no one knew what laid ahead.

“I would often think about that night when I was homesick. And then I would think about how the two of us stayed a little longer when the others went to their tents. We sat there cuddled under the same blanket staring at the stars lightening up the sky.”

Louis knew where this was going. He would go back to that night whenever he couldn’t sleep. Everything was easier back then. And when Louis thought it couldn’t have been better, after this night it got a thousand times better. Until…

“I remember feeling stressed all of a sudden.” Harry smiled. “My hands got sweaty as I was fighting with myself.” He closed his eyes slowly. “I was so terrified of losing you if I made a move. But at the same time, kissing you was the only thing I could think about right then.”

Louis remembered clearly that night. He had pretended to be unmoved, but in reality, he had felt the same way Harry had. They had been best friends since they were children. But he and Harry had always had a special bond that was much different than the one he had with other boys.

There was something he couldn’t pinpoint at the beginning. But then it had hit him. He had loved him. But not like a brotherly love he had felt towards other lads. He had been in love with him. And it scared the shit out of him because it had been the first time he had felt that. There had also been the fact that Harry was younger than him. That’s why he had done nothing. Until the bonfire. 

“But then you looked at me, and your face lit up with the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. And I couldn’t think clearly so I did what I always wanted to do and kissed you,” Harry continues.

“I must admit it was not the best first kiss I’ve ever had.” Louis chuckled.

“It was pretty bad,” Harry agreed. He looked down at the tumbler and tried to fight the grin that was forming on his face.

“But I’m glad you kissed me. I don’t think I’d ever man up to do that.”

Harry finally looked at Louis and the green met the blue. Harry’s eyes were full of remorse, but Louis could also see fondness in them at the same time. He turned his whole body towards Louis as he leaned only on his one elbow. “Yeah?” he smiled, scrunching his nose slightly.

“Yeah,” Louis nodded.

They stared at each other without blinking. Louis felt the same way they had felt all those years ago by the campfire. He wanted to kiss Harry so badly, but he was not sure if he should do that. Probably it was a really bad idea but in his mind, it felt right.

But then he reminded himself that it was only a few days both Harry and he got away from their relationships. He gathered all the willpower he could muster to move away, fixing his eyes on the street below. He didn’t trust himself enough in such close proximity to Harry. He couldn’t think straight.

He heard Harry sigh and take a sip from his glass. Louis could tell he was disappointed, but Louis couldn’t let his guard down. Not when they finally started talking after so many years. Louis had to take it slow. Whatever the ‘it’ was supposed to be.

“I think I’m going back. It’s getting kinda cold.” Louis could hear the pain and resignation in Harry’s voice. He looked back at him to see Harry had already moved a few steps towards the doors. “You can sleep in one of the guest bedrooms.” He turned around and disappeared inside the apartment.

Louis felt the tears welling in his eyes. He hated hurting Harry in any way. And he did just that. Again. But he had to think about himself too. He had to be sure this time. Because he wouldn’t be able to lose Harry again. The first time nearly killed him.

One lonely tear fell down his cheek. He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and breathed in a few calming breaths. He won’t let himself cry. He had spent too many nights crying over what was no longer there. He was tired of crying.

As he calmed down, he entered the apartment leaving the cold air behind. He did not turn on the lights as he wanted to stay in the shadows. He did not feel like indicating he was back inside.

He walked upstairs and entered the first bedroom on right. He was sure was a guest bedroom as the doors were slightly cracked open and there was no one inside. He closed the door and lied face down on the big bed standing in front of the doors.

As soon as he let his body sunk in the warmth of the blankets, he fell asleep.

***

The next two weeks looked pretty much the same. On weekdays Louis would wake up, go to work, then he would go back to Zayn’s flat and spend the evening watching shows on Netflix. On weekends he would watch the shows the whole day as he didn’t have to go to work.

He could see Zayn’s and Liam’s worried looks. They tried to convince Louis to go out with them, but he would budge. He had to cope with the break-up the way he knew would bring him the most satisfaction – it consisted of a lot of self-pitying, ice creams, and tv.

Louis had no idea where he stood with Harry. The day after their ‘boy’s night’, they both avoided each, and three days later Harry left for Jamaica to record his next album, so they had no time to talk about everything and clear the air. Harry didn’t even tell them when he was supposed to be back.

On a Wednesday night, as Louis was lying in front of the TV in Zayn’s living room, he heard the door opening and three pairs of feet entering the house. Soon enough he saw the three of his friends emerging from the hallway. They came back from one of the lad’s night that Louis did not feel like attending.

“Lou, listen,” Zayn stated excitedly as he sat on the couch Louis occupied. “Can you get two weeks off starting this Monday?” Liam and Niall stood behind the couch and looked expectantly at Louis.

“I don’t have any ongoing cases right now, so that shouldn’t be a problem,” Louis answered. “Why do I need 2 weeks off?” He raised the eyebrow and looked at his friends wearing excited smiles.

“We,” Niall shouted as he pointed at four of them, “are going on a holiday!”

“What?” Louis was confused. It was short notice holidays. That was unexpected.

“Yeah mate,” Liam chimed in, “Harry called us when we were in a pub and invited us to come to Jamaica. He said he won’t be able to come back to London for a long while, and he did not get us back to lose us again.”

“And he said he would cover all the costs so that we don’t have to worry about anything.” Niall did some sort of victory dance or whatever that was supposed to be.

Louis felt his heart skip a beat. Harry invited them to spend time with him. _That must mean he cared, right?_ Louis pondered. And they would go on vacation for two weeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he went abroad for holidays with his friends.

“What do you say?” Zayn interrupted Louis’ thoughts. “You in?” The three of them looked expectantly at him. Louis wondered if they would go without him if he did not agree. Probably not, but did he want to test that theory? Probably not.

“I guess,” Louis said, a small smile breaking on his face.

Liam and Niall jumped on Louis engulfing him in a hug. “Get off me. I can’t breathe!” Louis laughed and tried to wiggle out of his friends' embrace. He liked the idea of spending two weeks with his friends. And he was glad he would finally see Harry.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Jamaica, guys! I'm excited.  
> As always, thank you for your comments and the birthday wishes, you're the best!  
> We're getting towards the end.

Louis' pov

Louis, Zayn, and Liam arrived at the airport two hours before their flight. They were supposed to fly 8 hours to New York, then wait four hours for their next flight which was supposed to last another four hours.

At that evening hour, the airport was as busy as it usually was. There were lots of people going in all directions dragging suitcases behind themselves. Only small groups would sometimes stop and cause a small eddy.

The boys approached the plasma screens of arrivals and departure times on the wall, but they couldn’t find their flight yet. They lined up behind the people standing at the check-in desk. They stood surrounded by the noise of conversations and soft music playing in the background.

From the check-in desk, they moved to the departure lounge which was filled with a mixture of bored and excited faces. As they walked through, they realized most of the chairs were taken so they decided to go to a bar. Zayn was terrified of flying, so he could use some booze.

After they placed the order and were seated at the table, they sent Niall a text with the name of the bar they were sat at. Only half of the tables were filled with people, as the prices were twice as high as the ones you would normally find in a typical bar in London. But since it was Harry who was paying for their holidays, they didn’t mind splurging a little.

Louis felt uncomfortable that Harry spent so much on the four of them, but the lad insisted he didn’t mind at all. He said it was his overdue gift for Zayn’s and Liam’s wedding and he couldn’t not invite Niall and Louis along, so that was settled.

Around twenty minutes later they were joined by Niall, who walked energetically with a big smile on his face which betrayed his excitement. He ordered a pint and joined the table with a ‘how we doin’, lads?’.

Before it was time to get going, each of them had drunk at least three pints which led them to be at least tipsy as they boarded the airplane. Each of them took their seat and continued with their light banter. Half an hour later Louis heard the sound of the engines coming to life. Following the captain’s voice welcoming the passengers on board, the stewardess presented the rules for the evacuation.

Soon after that the plane regressed and headed towards the runway. Louis was glued to his window as he loved watching the plane take off. It was a little bit scary, but with the alcohol burning in his veins, he couldn’t care less at that moment.

The moment the plane stopped at the beginning of the runway Louis felt the turbines gaining the speed. After what seemed like an eternity of watching the trees passing them by, the plane took off from the ground with a shudder. The beak of the plane was getting higher and higher every second.

At that point, Louis could see London’s buildings emerging over the tops of trees. He felt a little nauseous as his stomach cramped. Maybe getting a few pints wasn’t the best idea after all. Not long after the plane disappeared among the clouds, Louis felt the airplane returning to the horizontal position.

As soon as the seat belt sign was no longer illuminated, Louis got up and headed towards the bathroom cabin to wash his face with a water. He felt sick and he had to freshen up a bit. Walking back towards his seat he saw Niall already fast asleep in his sleep. Zayn and Liam were cuddling in a weird position as the armrests were between them. They were watching toy story although Zayn seemed to be asleep already. Louis didn’t blame him. He passed their seats and sat comfortably in his chair. He turned towards the window watching the clouds moving constantly, giving the appearance of one dense layer. When he felt overwhelming exhaustion, he surrendered to it, closing his eyes, and falling instantly asleep.

***

Nine hours later they were sitting in the departure lounge at JFK Airport in New York. It was the middle of the night but all of them were rested after sleeping on their flight to New York. They had another two hours to pass by before they would board the plane that would take them to Jamaica.

They were all sprawled on the uncomfortable chairs in the lounge. Zayn was lying with his head in Liam's lap as Liam kept stroking his hair. Niall laid on the seats in front of the boys, his head lying on the pillow made out of his hoodie. All of them were munching on snacks Louis had bought from the machine standing nearby.

“Okay, Lou. Spill,” said Niall with his mouth stuffed with crisps. It was disgusting, but the boy wouldn’t learn not to talk with his mouth full. They had stopped reprimanding him a few years ago as it had been pointless.

“What do you mean?” Louis raised his eyebrow, a handful of jellybeans halfway towards his mouth.

“You know what I mean,” Niall pressed. “What’s up with you and Harry?”

“There’s nothing between us,” Louis answered with a shrug and averted his eyes. Zayn and Liam were looking at him pointedly but not saying anything yet. Louis knew they were dying to ask him a long time ago, but unlike Niall, they didn’t want to nag him.

Louis knew that sooner or later this topic would come up. It was inevitable. Louis and Harry were drawn to each other like magnets and their best friends could clearly see through both of them. There was no escaping the conversation.

The thing is Louis didn’t know how things between him and Harry were. He remembered Harry saying he still loved him back in LA and then Harry almost kissing him in his flat but retreating shortly after. 

They hadn’t spoken since then. They only exchanged a few texts, but it was it, really. Being in the close proximity of Harry made Louis feel lots of things he hadn’t felt for a long time. And it had been terrifying. He wasn’t sure if they would make it if they decided to date again, but at the same time, it was all he could think about.

Louis hugged his knees as he rested his heels on the seat. He placed his cheek on one knee and looked at Niall, whose eyes told Louis, he wouldn’t get away without answering the question.

“I don’t know,” Louis answered genuinely and sighed. He considered telling the boys about his and Harry’s encounters and couldn't find a reason to keep it a secret anymore. He had to confess. Maybe they would tell him what he should do. Maybe they would help him make the right decision.

Louis did just that. He told them about the night Harry and Louis spent talking in LA and Harry’s confession, and he also mentioned the almost-kiss situation. He told him about his insecurities and fears. He told them everything.

“He still loves you, I’m sure,” Zayn chimed in for the first time since the beginning of the conversation. “You can clearly see it on his face whenever he thinks nobody’s watching him. He’s wearing that lovesick look he used to wear when you were together. But this time there’s also longing and sadness, so I wouldn’t worry if his feelings are genuine. We all know he wears his feelings on his sleeve.”

“The question is,” Liam continued, “how do you feel about him? Can you see Harry as a part of your future?”

Those were the questions Louis wouldn’t let himself think about. He subconsciously knew the answer to them, but he couldn't bring himself to accepting the truth. Firstly, it was because of Chad, but now that there was nobody standing in their way, he was just terrified.

Being with Harry was not easy. Their love was genuine, but that’s not the only feeling that Louis felt. Being with Harry meant missing him constantly when they were not together. But it also meant getting jealous whenever Harry would go anywhere. Harry would attract people like a magnet with his kindness and honesty and in those moments Louis felt transparent. He felt as if he did not matter. As if he was just Harry’s boyfriend. But he was much more than that.

“I just…” Louis stuttered as he hid his head in his arms from their prying eyes. “It’s just a lot to think about right now.”

“That’s understandable, Lou,” Zayn said with compassion. “Just think about it. Make your mind before you see him again and do something you’ll regret, kay?”

Louis looked up and saw that Zayn had moved from his place to kneel behind Louis’ seat. He placed a hand on Louis' shoulders and sent him a smile. Louis was extremely grateful he had three amazing friends who would always support him.

Louis nodded his head and uttered with tears welling in his eyes, “I love you guys. Thank you for being here with me.”

“Of course. We’ll always be here for you,” Zayn said as he engulfed Louis in a hug. “We’ll be with you no matter what you decide to do. We just want you to be happy.” Louis could feel two more arms hugging him from both sides.

***

The whole flight to Jamaica Louis was awake. The thoughts trundled through his brain with no intention of stopping. He tried watching the movie, but he couldn’t concentrate on it either. He took out his headphones and played his favorite playlist of slow old ballads.

Looking at the clouds and sky through the window, he mustered up the courage to consider all the pros and cons of involving in a relationship with Harry. He was sure he still loved Harry even though he had tried so hard to suppress it.

The thing was, he thought he had suppressed those feelings but as soon as Harry came back to his life, the feelings came back even stronger than before accompanied by longing and overwhelming guilt.

Louis focused on listing the cons first. First of all, Harry was a superstar. He would go away for weeks which would leave Louis lonely in London for the time being. They wouldn’t have privacy whenever they went outside. There would be articles about Harry and Louis in the tabloids that would drive him mad.

On the other side, Harry was the love of his life. They grew up together, became best friends then lovers. Louis was sure Harry was ‘it’ for him. Harry would say they were lobsters. Louis smiled at that thought. That boy and his unreasonable love for F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

He had chosen Harry many years ago and there was no point in fooling himself he would choose someone else over Harry. He would fight for them this time like he should have done so many years ago when he acted like a coward and called the quits.

He hoped this time they would make it work. They would have to talk everything through and not rush anything if they both agree to start over. Making this decision made him feel as if a huge weight fell off his shoulders. His mind was clearer now, set on getting Harry back.

***

Harry had hired a driver to collect them from the airport and get them to the house. The house turned out to be a huge modern mansion on the hill overlooking the sea. Louis wondered how much Harry had spent on them already.

Walking through big wooden front doors, the first thing that hit them was an amazing view of the backyard. The entire south side of the room consisted of a folding door leading to the garden. From where they stood, they could see the pool and the sea stretching out in the distance.

The living room was enormous. There was a huge table for at least 8 people, three couches placed around the wooden coffee table facing the TV hanging on the wall. There were many bookshelves on the northern side of the room.

On the right behind the stairs leading upstairs, they found the doors leading to the bathroom. Next to the bathroom, they walked through the archway to the kitchen with marble tops and island in the middle. From the kitchen, you could also go outside to the garden.

They went upstairs to leave their bags in the rooms and freshen up after over fifteen hours of traveling. The northern side of the hallway upstairs had four pairs of double doors that led to the bedrooms.

Niall chose the first room, Liam and Zayn the second one, which left Louis to choose either the third or the last room. He supposed, there was no difference which room he picked as all of them would be extremely fancy.

He walked through the third door and found out, each of the rooms had folding doors leading to a terrace with the same amazing view they had seen downstairs. He had already loved it. There was a four-poster bed in the room facing the chest of drawers and tv hanging above it.

He rubbed his fingers along the silken mattress as he lied down and pressed his cheek to the cool, velvet pillows. The comforter was thin and irresistibly soft. He couldn’t wait to sleep in this bed. Next, he walked into the adjoined bathroom that reminded Louis of the one at Harry’s house in LA. 

He decided to take a long relaxing bath before he would find the boys downstairs to go sunbathing outside. Even though it was hot outside he filled the bathtub with steaming water and poured some oils he found standing on the counter. The flowery smell instantly filled the whole bathroom.

Half an hour later he put his swimming trunks on and went downstairs to look for the boys. He found them lying in the sun on the sun loungers. He approached them and lied down on the empty lounger. He put on his glasses, looked at the view, and sighed with content.

It’s not like he had never been on holiday, because he had. He always tried to get away for at least a few days a year, but he had never been in a place like that. He couldn’t afford to stay in a place like that so he decided to make the most of his stay in paradise.

They talked for a while about the ongoing football season and argued who was most likely to win. It was their usual banter that they would normally have over a beer in a pub in London. The surroundings were much better though.

They stayed there for quite a while already turning a light shade of red from the sun. Louis couldn’t remember the last time he went sunbathing. Probably like a year or two ago. He forgot to rub the sunscreen on his skin and was sure he would regret that later on. He couldn’t care less to go upstairs at that moment though.

They spent another hour before the boys decided to swim in the pool. Louis felt too good where he was laying to join them despite their pleas. He watched the three boys playing volleyball for quite a while. They were laughing constantly and shouting obscenities at each other as they splashed the water around.

Niall was hit with the ball at least twice at that point which made Louis remember that time Niall hit his face with a basketball when they were in high school. It was one of the best memories and he wouldn’t let Niall forget about it.

Sometime later he decided to stretch his limbs, so he got up and approached the pool. He had no intention of going in the pool still. He stood there talking with the boys who tried to splash him with water.


	13. Chapter 13

Harry's pov

Harry got back from recording sessions around one in the afternoon. He entered the villa holding a bag with a takeout food he had bought on his way back. As he entered the living room, he immediately spotted his friends near the pool. As he got closer, he could recognize boys’ voices convincing Louis to jump into the pool.

He placed the food on the table and walked quietly towards the boys. When all of them except Louis spotted him, he gestured towards them not to betray his presence. They quickly averted their gazes and Harry was glad that Louis hadn’t noticed anything.

Louis was standing at the edge of the pool, wearing blue trunks that hugged him in all the right places. Harry could see Louis had already managed to burn himself in the sun. He walked quietly over to Louis who was telling the boys a funny story, but Harry did not pay attention to the story as he devoted all his attention to being as quiet as possible.

When he was close enough, he put his hands on Louis’ hips, and in one swift motion, he pushed the boy into the pool.

“What the...” Louis couldn’t even finish the sentence before he disappeared under the water. As Louis emerged, the rest of the boys were laughing with tears in their eyes. When Louis turned around and looked at him, Harry bent down with laughter resting his hands on his knees seeing the shocked and affronted look on Louis’ face. “You’re dead, Styles,” Louis said with an extremely serious face.

If Harry hadn’t known Louis, he might get scared, but Harry knew that he didn’t have to worry about anything. “Your face, oh my god,” Harry uttered through the laughter. “Priceless.” He straightened and pointed towards the food he left on the table. “Come on guys, I’ve brought lunch.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” shouted Niall as the three of the boys got closer towards the edge to get out of the pool. They climbed out and hugged Harry in greeting. Even though his shirt was wet from his friend’s wet chests, he didn’t mind it one bit. 

Harry looked at Louis with a huge grin on his face. Louis came closer to where Harry was standing and held out his hand towards Harry. “Are you going to help me out?” Louis said with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

“Nah,” Harry laughed. “I don’t think so.” He turned around from Louis and he could swear he heard Louis say ‘ _you little shit_.’ He approached the boys and sat at the table with a big smile on his face. He was sitting between Niall and Liam, leaving the only empty seat in front of him.

“That was genius, mate,” Niall praised him with his face stuffed with chicken wings.

“I’ll get you for that later,” Louis said, his eyes narrowed, as he sat down in front of Harry.

“Can’t wait, Lou,” Harry said, wiggling his brows at the boy in front of him. They used to banter like that all the time and although it included subtle innuendo, they all laughed not paying any mind to it.

“Is this your house?” Liam asked curiously pointing with his fork at the building.

“Nah, I rented it for two weeks. I stayed in the hotel previously but thought we would have more privacy here. “ As much as Harry was used to people following him and cameras pointed at him all the time, he wanted his friends out of it as long as possible.

“It’s really amazing,” Zayn chimed in, already done with his food.

They bantered for a while before they agreed to go back inside and play a FIFA tournament as Harry had mentioned he had brought the console. The four boys sprawled on the couches and Harry decided to take beers from the fridge and any snacks he could find in the cupboards.

“Do you need a hand?” Harry looked up to find Louis standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face daring Harry to play the game of innuendos. Harry could instantly read behind the lines, and a wide smile crept on his face.

“Actually, yes I do,” Harry answered as he looked pointedly at Louis. “But for now, you can take the snacks.” He took the beers and left the kitchen winking at Louis. He could hear Louis’ chuckle coming from the kitchen.

It was familiar. Almost… too familiar. Like nothing had changed between them. Harry wondered what had changed since the last time they had stood on Harry’s terrace in London. He thought it might be a little awkward between them, but Louis seemed to change his mind.

Harry wondered where those little banters between them would lead, and if one of them would cross any boundaries. He let himself hope, that everything was going in the right direction. Maybe after all they would get back together.

Harry was smiling as he placed the beers on the table and laid down, placing his head in Niall’s laps. The boy didn’t seem to mind. When Louis came with the snacks, Harry looked up at him and sent him a silent dare to say anything with their friends in the room.

Louis looked at harry lying with his head on Niall’s laps and Harry could see a spark of something in his eyes, but as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Louis threw the package of Lay’s at Harry’s head, but it didn’t reach its aim, as Niall caught it ten centimeters above Harry’s head.

“Thanks, mate,” Niall said and ripped the package open immediately. It always amazed Harry how much this boy ate. Harry pulled out his tongue to mock Louis who in return flipped Harry off. Harry laughed as Louis took his place on the other side of the couch and turned his face towards the tv screen.

Zayn and Liam played the first match against each other. It was amusing to watch as they were lying next to each other and they tried to sabotage each other by poking the other’s ribs. After a while, Harry felt the lay’s’ crumbs on his face and got up immediately with a look of horror on his face.

“Come one, mate,” he said reproachfully to Niall. This boy couldn’t even eat without leaving a mess around himself. Harry crossed on the other side of the couch where Louis was lying and sat down between Louis and Zayn.

“I heard lay's hair mask is getting more and more popular nowadays. Leaves your hair smooth and shiny.” Harry looked at Louis who was openly laughing at him.

“Oh, piss off,” Harry poked Louis side to shut him up, but it only made him laugh harder.

They each took turns playing against each other. To nobody’s surprise, Louis won with everyone and he decided to rub that fact in all the boys’ faces for half an hour.

As it was nearing four pm, Harry decided to prepare dinner. He checked the cupboards' contents since he decided to prepare fajitas. He took everything he would need and placed it on the counter.

He really liked the kitchen in this house. He believed kitchen was the most important room in every house. He loved cooking, and he liked to work in a big, well-equipped kitchen.

“Hey mate, do you need help?” Harry looked up to see Zayn standing in the doorway.

“Not really,” Harry answered truthfully. He liked to cook on his own. “But you can stay here if you want?” Harry added as he saw Zayn hesitating if he should leave or not.

“Yeah, I’d like that if you don't mind.” Zayn entered the kitchen and sat on the barstool behind the kitchen island opposite to Harry.

“Not at all.” Harry smiled. He didn't know why he felt slightly anxious all of the sudden. Zayn was always a mystery to him. Harry couldn’t read any emotions on his face and it bothered him. “Where are the boys?” Harry asked as he resumed preparing the meal.

“They found a cinema room upstairs and put on some movie. I don't even know which one, to be honest.”

Harry only hummed in response. He had already cut chicken breasts into smaller pieces. Next, he had to season it and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least half an hour.

“I wanted to thank you for inviting us here, Harry.” Zayn smiled at Harry as he leaned forward on the counter, following Harry's moves with his eyes.

“You've already thanked me enough for it. It's really nice to have you all here,” Harry answered thoughtfully and sent Zayn a smile.

He left the chicken in the fridge and took the bell peppers. He washed them and began cutting them into strips.

“There's something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Zayn said calmly. Harry swallowed a lump in his throat as he had a feeling, he knew what Zayn was hinting at. “I know that it's inevitable for you and Louis to get back together.”

Harry's looked up in surprise to see Zayn looking at him as stoically as before. Harry did not say a single thing, but he put away the knife he was holding. Better not be holding anything sharp when listening to what Zayn was about to say.

“I’m just gonna tell you what I told Louis, okay?” Zayn asked to which Harry just nodded. “I want you to be sure before you two decide to get back together. Both of you are extremely important to me. You are important to Liam and Niall as well and we value your happiness. We will stick with you whatever you decide, but I'm just asking you two not to make any reckless decision.”

“The thing is,” Harry began in a small voice, “I haven't been surer of anything as I'm sure that I want to make us work it out. He was the best thing that happened to me, my anchor to reality. And if there is any chance of getting back together, I want to seize it.”

“Good.” Zayn seemed to be content with Harry's answer. “As I said before, we are here for both of you, and we will support you no matter what. So no running away ever again, kay? We are not only Louis’ friends, but we are also your friends, and it hurt that you forgot about us that easily.”

“I have never forgotten about you,” Harry’s voice was cracking because of the guilt that filled his veins. “I could never forget about you, but we shared too many memories that were painful to think about at that time.”

“I totally get that Harry. I just hope we could be there for you at that moment. It must have been hard.”

“It was. But it's okay now. I promise not to give up on any of you.” Harry would never give up his friendships with those boys anymore. He had missed them and their genuineness and he knew they would never use him for clout. He was sick of all the fake people that called themselves his friends.

“And I want you to remember that you can always talk to us about anything, okay?” Zayn asked and Harry nodded in agreement. “Come here, big boy,” Zayn said as he reached Harry and engulfed him in a big hug.

At first, it was an awkward hug but then Harry let himself melt into Zayn’s arms, his every muscle losing its tension. The hug was a simple enough gesture, but for Harry, it meant a lot. It meant that he had people who would support him and be there for him whenever he needed them. It was reassuring.

When they finally parted, Zayn moved to sit back at the counter and Harry resumed preparing the meal. Harry told Zayn about his upcoming album and the songs he had been recording lately. Then Harry asked Zayn to tell how he ended up with Liam which led to Zayn talking about the proposal and then their wedding.

It was nice catching up with the boy’s life. The only thing that bothered Harry was that he wasn’t there to celebrate with his friends. But there was no point in dwelling about the past as he wasn’t able to change it. The only thing he could do right then was making sure he wouldn’t miss anything else.

They had been chatting for a while when Louis entered the kitchen. He looked suspiciously between Harry and Zayn with a raised brow. “What’s up with you two?” Louis asked as he started opening the cupboards one by one in search of… well Harry didn’t know what Louis was looking for exactly.

“Just chillin’,” Harry answered with a shrug. He put the skillet on a stove which was set to medium heat. He added the chicken and waited for it to cook until golden.

“Just chillin’?” Louis repeated mockingly. He opened the cupboard near the fridge and made a strange squeaking noise as he took out a popcorn bag.

“What’s wrong with that?” Zayn chimed in. He raised his brow and crossed his arms as if to dare Louis to speak up his mind.

“Nothing,” Louis smirked at Zayn and left the kitchen to go back to the cinema room.

“Don’t eat too much. The dinner will be ready in twenty,” Harry shouted behind Louis, to which he got a response that suspiciously sounded like _‘Kay, mom’_. Harry looked at Zayn and they shook their heads, both of them sporting silly grins.

It was when they heard a thump followed by ‘ _I’m okay!’_ that left them in fits of laughter. Usually, it was Harry who was walking into objects or tripping over his legs. It was nice to laugh at somebody’s else clumsiness from time to time.

After adding bell peppers and onion to a skillet, Harry left it to cook until soft for five more minutes. He took 5 plates from a cupboard and asked Zayn to place them on the table. He heated the tortillas as Zayn went upstairs to call the rest of the boys for a meal.

When Harry approached the table with the skillet in one hand and plate with tortillas in the other, he heard the laughter and thumping coming from the stairs. Not long after, all five boys were sitting at the table and stuffing their faces with the food.

After they finished eating, they decided to move to the daybeds on the patio. Harry took the red wine and five wine glasses and followed the boys outside. As they got closer to two beds facing the coast. Harry poured wine into each glass and handed it to the boys.

Zayn and Liam were sitting on one bed with their backs leaning on the frame and little to no space between them. They were disgustingly in love, but Harry couldn’t blame them. He knew how that felt. To be beside someone you love. You don’t want anything to come between you and your love. Even if it’s the air.

Niall sat on the other bed with his back pressed against the pillows same as Zayn and Liam. Louis decided to lie on his stomach across the foot of the same bed. Harry took the only empty seat next to Niall.

They sat there in silence sipping their wine. With each passing moment, the sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon, illuminating the sky in shades of pink and orange. It was a mesmerizing view that Harry hoped to remember for a lifetime. He was with his best friends, in one of his favorite places on earth.

As the sun had finally set, garden lights turned on automatically, illuminating their entire surrounding with a soft light. The stars started filling the sky, with no clouds to hide them from boys’ eyes. A warm breeze was tousling their hair, but they didn’t mind.

“Do we have any plans for tomorrow?” it was Niall who finally broke the silence. Harry opened his eyes and saw four pairs of eyes looking at him expectantly. He didn’t remember closing his eyes in the first place.

“Well tomorrows a big day for Zayn and Liam,” Harry started. His friends’ visit was partly an overdue wedding gift for Zayn and Liam, and he wanted to do something special for their anniversary which was supposed to be the next day. “So… I planned this whole date for the two of you.” He said as he pointed at Zayn and Liam.

“What you mean the two of them? I wanna go too!” Niall pouted before anyone else had a right to say anything.

“They don’t want to spend their anniversary with us, Niall,” Louis said with the silent ‘Duh’ at the end. “They’ll be with us for the rest of the trip. Give them a day off.” Niall didn’t look convinced.

“What kind of date?” Liam asked excitedly. He and Zayn were smiling brightly.

“You’ll have to wait and see, won’t you?” Harry said mysteriously. “It’s a surprise after all.”

Liam groaned. He was too curious for his own good. But Harry wouldn’t give in. He knew they’d love it. Zayn mouthed a thank you and turned towards Liam to give him a big sloppy kiss.

“Can we do something fun tomorrow too?” Niall whined which earned him a chuckle from Zayn and Liam.

“Sure thing, midget,” Harry poked Niall on the cheek so he would take the pout off his face. “Whatever you want. I don’t have any sessions tomorrow so we can do whatever you want.”

Niall pushed Harry’s hand away and asked, “what can we do?”

“Uhm,” Harry thought for a moment when he remembered the golfing courts he passed every day on his day to the city. “We could go golfing?”

“Yes!” Niall shouted excitedly while Louis whined in protest. Harry knew Niall would like the idea, but on the other hand, Louis hated golf.

“Please,” Niall said dragging the last letter turning it into a whine. “I wanna go!” His exclamation was met with more whining coming from Louis. Harry felt like he had to deal with toddlers.

“How old are you? Two?” Harry said mockingly. “You can go play golf and Louis and I will go to the beach or somewhere else. How does that sound?” Harry pretended not to see Zayn's raised brow and the smirk he tried to hide in Liam's shoulder.

He groaned inwardly as he realized what Zayn had in mind. He wasn’t trying to spend a day alone with Louis deliberately. He just didn’t want Louis to sit in a house while he was playing golf with Niall. Or that’s what he kept telling himself.

“Fine by me!” Niall went back to being cheerful in a moment. This boy and his love for golf. Harry would never understand it.

Louis showed a thumb up as if agreeing to the plans. “We’re settled then,” Harry relaxed on the bed and turned to look at Zayn and Liam. “The driver will be waiting at 10 tomorrow. Is that okay with you?” he asked the pair.

Zayn and Liam nodded their heads and started whispering between themselves. Harry could see excitement written on their faces. He turned his head towards Louis to find the blue eyes already watching him curiously.

Harry shrugged and nudged Louis thigh with his big toe. “Fuck off,” Louis said as he smacked Harry’s foot. Harry chuckled and looked up at the stars.

Shortly after they decided to retire to their own beds as they couldn’t wait for the next day. When Harry was finally lying in his bed, he felt anxious due to the date with Louis. No, not date. Definitely not date.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guys! The new chapter is here!  
> I can't wait for you to read it. Tell me what you think.

Louis' pov

It was nice waking up in a big comfy bed after two weeks of couch surfing at Zayn and Liam’s. As much as he was thankful to the boys, their couch was not meant to be slept on. His back had hurt as he couldn’t find a comfortable sleeping position.

Louis refused to open his eyes for several more minutes. He lazily stretched his arms and legs and heard his joints cracking. The thin quilt was slipped partly from his body because of the movement, leaving his bare chest in plain sight.

After a few stolen minutes, he eventually cracked his eyes open, placing his hands behind his head. He had left the doors to the terrace open the previous night to keep fresh air inside the room. He gazed at the landscape stretching beyond the railings and sighed with content.

The sea was as still as a pond, but that was the only resemblance between the two. The Caribbean Sea was the perfect color of turquoise. The sky blue was bright and soft all at once.

Louis reached for the phone from the bedside table and opened it to find 3 unread messages from Lottie. He skimmed through the texts and decided to call his sister. She went to Los Angeles for three months to become an assistant of the most known makeup artist of the celebs. Or that’s what Louis had concluded from their phone calls.

“Hello, Boo,” Lottie answered facetime after three signals. She has already tanned thanks to LA’s sun. She was sitting in her kitchen with a cup in her hand. “How’s your vacation?”

She was too cheerful considering the early morning hour. Louis looked at the top right corner of the phone screen and saw it was already almost 11 am. He was surprised that he slept in, but considering he was on holiday, he could indulge himself.

“It’s good,” Louis said as he propped himself higher on the headboard. He was now sitting with his legs crossed at the ankles. “Really nice.”

“I’m so happy you have finally decided to go away. You needed it.” She sent him a knowing look. She would tell him every two days since the breakup that he needs to change the scenery and stop whining. It was easier said than done, but in the end, she was right. Not that he would tell her that. “How’s Harry? Have you talked?”

Louis knew this question was coming. Lottie had always had a great relationship with Harry, although when Harry had left, he had broken off all the ties with everyone. It had hurt Lottie dearly, but she understood that it was Harry’s way of coping with the whole situation. She hadn’t held any grudge.

“He’s okay, I guess.” Louis shrugged and turned his head towards the view outside the doors. It was calming, and he needed to calm down a bit as Lottie’s question brought back all his insecurities and questions that had been constantly nagging him since Harry’s confession back in LA. “We haven’t talked much. But we’re going to spend a day together.”

“Like a date?” Lottie seemed to be excited by the mere idea. She was always their biggest supporter although she pretended to hate being the third wheel. The truth is she never was a third wheel. The three of them used to spend a lot of time together.

“No, Lots,” Louis shakes his head, as if trying to dismiss the idea before getting his hopes up. He would like for it to be a date, but it was too early. Or was it? “It’s just that Zayn and Liam have their anniversary today and Harry organized the whole day date for them, and then Niall wanted to go golfing and you know how much I detest that sport.” Louis rolled his eyes. He had no idea why Niall was so into golfing. It was ridiculous.

Lottie chuckled and nodded in confirmation. They had gone golfing once, Lottie, Harry, and Louis, and let’s just say it wasn’t a nice evening. “So where are you going to do on your no-date with your ex-boyfriend you wish was anything but ex?” She looked so smug saying this. She knew Louis so well.

Louis decided to let it go and not go into that banter. He had already been in the lost position. “I don’t know. He said something about the beach or summat.”

They talked for a little bit about Lottie’s job and their siblings before Louis decided to end the call and go downstairs to eat some breakfast. He had to promise Lottie first that he would call her as soon as he got back that from the outing, no matter what the hour.

After putting on his blue swimming trunks and white shirt, he headed downstairs. Passing the living room, he saw Harry lying on the couch with his back to Louis, watching some music channel that was on TV. He hadn’t seemed to notice Louis yet, so Louis decided to scare him.

He walked to the couch as quietly as possible with an idea to throw Harry off the couch as revenge. As soon as he was at an arm’s length, Harry turned around and smirked at Louis. “You need to practice being quiet if you want to creep up on people, ya know?”

“I was!” Louis pouted. “You’re the worst.” He turned around and resumed his way towards the kitchen.

“Did you sleep well?” Louis heard Harry ask from the couch. He didn’t seem to want to follow Louis to the kitchen to have a chat.

Louis opened the fridge and took the milk and then he opened a few cupboards before he found the coco pops in one of them. He poured the right amount of milk into the bowl and added the cereals. It was his favorite breakfast even though some people made fun of it. He didn’t care.

Louis took the bowl and went back to the living room. He sat on the opposite couch to where Harry was sitting, “I slept like a baby,” he answered the previous question as he looked at Harry. The boy was already looking at him with a brow raised mockingly. Yes, it was Harry who made fun of Louis’ choice of breakfast. “Sod off,” Louis huffed and turned his gaze towards the tv. “You didn’t have to ask people to buy it if you only wanted to mock me.”

“I’m not saying anything,” Harry said innocently. Louis could hear the chuckle he tried really hard to contain. It felt almost too familiar. He had missed their little banters. Their little laughs and inside jokes. It was almost like nothing had changed. Almost.

“You didn’t have to,” Louis pointed with his mouth full which earned him a chuckle and something that suspiciously sounded like ‘gross’. He looked back at Harry to find him with a big smile on his face. He wasn’t looking at Louis this time.

Louis let his gaze roam the man’s body. Harry was lying with his right head lying on his right forearm. His left arm was lying on man’s stomach. He looked at the tattoos inked to his skin. Some of them Louis knew really well, as he had the complementary tattoos, but there were a lot of new ones which made Louis jealous. They reminded Louis, that Harry had a life Louis wasn’t a part of for a long time, and the only one he could put a blame on was himself.

He averted his gaze from his tattoos, as they were making him feel bad. He noticed Harry was wearing probably the shortest pair of trunks he probably owned, which complemented his long, tanned legs. Louis swallowed the contents of his mouth with difficulty as different images started floating in his head.

“See something you like?” Harry said cheekily. Louis looked up and saw Harry wearing a smug expression on his face. Louis felt his cheeks getting hot from being caught.

“Not really,” Louis tried to sound unfazed, but he was almost sure Harry could see through him. “I just got lost in thought.” As soon as he saw the glint of mischief in Harry's eyes, he knew he should have stayed silent.

“Oh, do care to elaborate,” Harry said as he turned his whole body on his left side – facing Louis, with his head propped on his left elbow. He seemed to be enjoying that too much for Louis liking. That smug bastard. He knew Louis too well.

“Nah, I don’t think so.” Louis had to stop the banter before his face would look like a tomato. “Have Z and Liam already left?” he tried to distract Harry from the previous topic.

Before Harry answered, he stayed silent for a while to let Louis know he was aware of his poor attempt to change the subject, but he gave in. “Yeah, they left like an hour ago.”

“What have you planned for them?” Louis was extremely curious for the previous night and hoped Harry would give up the details now that the boys wouldn’t hear.

“Uhm,” Harry pretended to think if he should do this like it was some kind of big secret and finally answered, “that would be a no.”

“Oh, come on,” Louis said pleadingly. He couldn’t understand why Harry wouldn’t tell him. It’s not like he would text Zayn all the details and ruin the surprise. “Tell me.”

“You can ask them when they’re back,” Harry wouldn’t budge. “They’ll tell you if they want to.” He winked at Louis. He fucking dared to wink at him. Harry knew well Louis didn’t like to be left in the dark. He was an extremely curious person and he liked to know things. Not knowing was eating him alive.

Louis huffed in annoyance which made Harry chuckle. He finished his breakfast and retreated to the kitchen to put the bowl in the sink. As he got back, he was met with a comical view. He saw Niall squishing Harry on the couch with a big pout on his face.

When Niall looked up at Louis, he groaned, “Louu… Harry won’t make me breakfast.” Harry squirmed under him to try and shake Niall off with no result. Louis laughed at their antics. It was as if they were teenagers although all of them were close to their thirties.

“Get off me, you little piece of shit!” Harry said with difficulty. It was clear Niall was squishing his chest and Harry couldn’t breathe properly. “Lou, get him off me,” Harry said pleadingly as he looked at Louis.

“For God’s sake, Harold, you’re such a drama queen. Just make him breakfast.” Louis scolded. He took the tv remote and plopped down on the couch.

“Whose side are you on?” Harry groaned not really waiting for an answer. “Okay, I’ll do it.” Harry agreed which earned him a hug and sloppy kiss to his cheek from Niall.

As Niall got up, Harry sent Louis a disappointed look and followed the Irish boy to the kitchen.

***

An hour later the three of them were sat in Harry’s vehicle. They were on their way to drop Niall on the golf field. They were driving the empty narrow streets with music blasting from the speakers.

They were singing at the top of their lungs to the old songs that Harry played on his Spotify. They were clapping to the beat and goofing around with the weird hand gestures while trying to hit the high notes.

Mere twenty minutes later they were parked in front of a building where Niall disappeared in after saying goodbyes and bidding the boys a nice day.

Louis sat in the front seat as it had been occupied by Niall until he left. He was childish enough to ‘call the dibs’. Louis didn’t feel like pointing out his immaturity, so he sat in the back seat without a word.

Now as Louis was sitting next to Harry, the curly-haired boy turned down the music so it would be easier to talk.

“Where are we going exactly?” Louis inquired as Harry started the car and left the carpark. Louis put on his aviators, as he had to squint his eyes to see anything through the window.

“So, my friend has a hotel and there is this nice beach behind it. It’s not that big, but its really beautiful, and it will be closed during the time we’re there.” Harry seemed excited as he talked about it.

Louis wondered, how long had Harry spent on this island that he already had a lot of friends. It was always easy for Harry to make new friends from the youngest years.

Louis had to admit that Harry had always been extremely endearing, and he would attract people like a magnet. Louis would envy him this ability from the beginning of their friendship.

With the passing years, Harry had to be more careful with people, because some of them wanted to use him for his popularity. And Harry was too naive and trustworthy to see through them.

“Closed?” Louis asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said as he shifted slightly in his seat. He put on the AC as it was getting hard to breathe inside the car. It was perfect weather for a day on the beach but not exactly for a car ride. “He’s got a smaller beach that he usually rents for people for occasions like weddings or something.”

“You’re not trying to kidnap me and make me wed you?” Louis looked at Harry with sparks of humor in his eyes.

“As tempting as that sounds,” Harry starts with a chuckle, “I don’t want our both families to come after me for even getting an idea of not including them in anything that important.” Harry looked over at Louis and sent him a wink.

“Touché,” Louis agreed with a smile. “They would never forgive you.” It was nice to banter with Harry. Even though it was about their marriage, it was not awkward in any way.

Louis was happy he got a chance to spend a day with Harry. He had no idea what the boy had planned, but he usually had great ideas when he had planned their days in the past.

Was it a date though? Louis knew Harry still had feelings for him and truth be told, the more time Louis spent with Harry, the stronger his feelings towards the boy had become. Louis hoped that whatever they’d make of it, it would end differently this time. And if he called their outing a date on his head, nobody had to know.

Twenty minutes later Harry parked in front of a two-story building with a pastel yellow elevation and red-tile rooftop with a low angle of inclination. The front part of the building was decorated with arched windows and large wooden arched front doors.

They left the car in time to see the front door opening, revealing a middle-aged man. He was sporting shoulder-length dreadlocks and was wearing jean shorts and a white polo shirt.

“Harry!” the man exclaimed as he got closer to the pair. Louis guessed it was said the owner of the hotel. Judging by the look he would never assume this man owned a 5-star hotel. He looked more like a surfer. “How are you?”

“Hey, Dan! I’m good man,” Harry greeted a man with a hug and then turned towards Louis. “Lou, this is Dante, he owns this hotel,” then Harry turned to Dante to introduce Louis, “Dan, this is Louis.” The two men greeted each other with smiles and handshakes.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Louis. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Dante said with a chuckle and a wink, followed by a groan then came out of Harry. “You can freely use the beach. It will be closed for the whole day, so no worries. I wish I could take you there, but I’ve got to go to a meeting, and you know the way,” Dante said and pointed to the car brought by a valet. “Eithan is waiting for the two of you by the entrance to the beach.”

“Thanks, man! Hope I’ll catch you for a lunch sometime this week!”

“For sure! Have fun boys,” Dante said and winked at Louis as he took the car keys from the valet and got in the car. Louis felt like there was something more behind Dante’s winks. He wondered what Harry had told Dante about Louis.

“Can I take your car, sir?” The valet asked Harry who agreed and before he handed the car keys, he opened the boot and took out a picnic basket and a beach bag. As the boy drove off. Harry indicated Louis to follow the path on the left. The followed a rocky path through a wood until they reached a blue painted wooden hut. There was a gate behind the hut that was closed.

As they approached the hut, a young man walked out of it to greet them. “Hello, I’m Eithan. You must be Harry and Louis.” He said as he held out his hand towards Harry first and then towards Louis to shake. “You’ll have the beach for yourselves for the whole day. I have left two SUPs and paddles for both of you if you felt like swimming.”

“Thank you,” both Harry and Louis said as the boy opened the gates for them and let them through. The boy closed the gate behind them, and they took to the sandy path. A couple of minutes later they left the wood to see the cove surrounded on the right and left by high cliff covered with various plants.

They walked along the beach, the warm dry sand squishing underneath their soles. When they reached half of the beach where the SUPs laid, they stopped, deciding to leave their things there. Harry took the blanket from the bag and spread it on the sand.

Louis had already taken off his shoes and his shirt, so he turned around to take in his surroundings. When he faced Harry, he saw the said man taking off his shirt, revealing man’s tattooed torso. Louis remembered Harry liked to stay in shape, but he was shocked by Harry’s toned arms and stomach. He stared at Harry’s muscles flexing as a result of the activity.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Louis looked at Harry’s face sporting a smirk to realize Harry had caught him staring. A blush crept up Louis’ cheeks.

“I’ve seen better,” Louis said as he tried to keep up his composure and he looked away.

“I’m sure you have,” Harry said with a chuckle. “Are we going in?” He asked as he pointed at the water that was of the color of the lagoon. A shade of teal with a relaces, tropical flair. They moved arm in arm toward the sea, sand crunching between their toes.

They approached the water, immersing their feet first, then their calves, thighs, and abdomen. The water was cool, soothing from the heat pouring down from the sky. When the water reached their shoulders, they started swimming with their heads above the water.

Soon they decided it was just right to take a dive. They sucked air into their lungs and plunged into the abyss of the bay. They saw the most amazing sight: hundreds of colorful fishes, swimming in shoals around the plants growing on the seabed.

The view was mesmerizing. The water was full of sea life that surrounded them on all sides. They swam among the fauna around them, emerging every now and then to take a breath and plunging into the depths again.

At one point, Louis saw a baby turtle, moving his little legs. He swam to Harry, tapped on his shoulder, and pointed at adorable baby. They smiled at each other and swam closer, keeping a safe distance so as not to scare the turtle away.

Not long after, they decided to go ashore and grab a bite to eat. They were both tired but each of them had a huge smile on their faces. They laid down on the blanket, ignoring the fact that it would be all wet. It was hot enough that everything would dry up in no time.

“It was amazing,” Louis exhaled. He put his arm over his eyes, to block the rays of the sun. They were laying next to each other with only the basket separating them.

“Yeah, it was,” Harry agreed. “I’ve seen it multiple times, but it was breath-taking every single time.” He sat down and opened the lid of the basket to take out the food boxes. There were sandwiches in one box and although Louis suspected they had a lot of vegetables inside, they looked delicious. The next box contained cupcakes, and the last box contained sliced fruit.

Louis sat up and crossed his legs as his stomach rumbled. Even though he had breakfast, swimming in the sea was very tiring. He reached for the first sandwich and bit into it with a groan. As he suspected, it contained mostly vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and more that he couldn't make out. It was Harry’s poor attempt to make Louis eat healthier, but this time, he really didn’t mind.

“It’s so good,” Louis said with his mouth full. He didn’t care it wasn’t proper. Harry had already seen him do this and much worse things. They were comfortable with each other.

“I’m glad you like it,” Harry said with a proud expression that he made Louis eat vegetables. Harry opted for fruit. It used to be his favorite snack. It was nice to know that hadn’t changed.

They sat there munching on food and talking lightly. Louis enjoyed the day so far and hoped they could stay here forever. After they had eaten, they decided to lie down and rest before returning to the water.

Louis had dozed off at some point and learned he had slept for half an hour when he woke up. He felt his arms prickling from the sunburn and asked Harry to give him a sun cream. He hoped he had thought about it before he decided to take a nap in the full sun.

“Do you wanna take the sups now?” Harry asked pointing at the boards lying nearby. Louis had never gone stand up paddleboarding, but it couldn’t be that hard, right? He knew how to skateboard, so he was positive he would be at least okay.

They took the boards and the paddles and approached the water. They placed the boards on the surface of the water and led them until the water touched their knees. They straddled their boards and swam further from the shore.

Louis felt it wasn’t that hard, but he had to stand up yet. Harry had already stood up and waited for Louis to do the same. Louis was adamant at first not feeling too confident on the board, but Harry’s mocking words helped him make up his mind. He wouldn’t let Harry make fun of him.

He changed to a kneeling position with his hands gripping the edges to stabilize the board which earned him a whistle from Harry and a remark that sounded suspiciously like ‘looking good, Lou!” Louis looked at Harry to see him wiggling his brows, so he flipped him off. Oh, how he hated that boy.

Louis moved one foot at a time to place his feet where his knees were and stood up slowly. He swayed a little, but other than that, he was stable. He looked at Harry and sent him a victorious smile.

“Took you long enough,” Harry chuckled. “Ready to paddle a little bit further?” He gripped his paddle and put the end in the water to get the board moving. Louis copied his movement and they swam a little bit further away from the shore.

The further they swam off the shore, the more comfortable Louis felt standing on the board. He came up with an idea to make Harry regret making fun of Louis. He swam closer to Harry’s board, and when he thought Harry was not looking at Louis, he pushed him into the water. What he did not foresee was that Harry would grab his hand and pull him into the water with himself.

As they both fell into the water, the wave that was created by the commotion pushed the boards a few meters in the direction of the rocks.

“What the hell?” Louis exclaimed as his head emerged from under the water. He spat out the saltines off his tongue. It was disgusting.

“What the hell?” Harry asked incredulously. “I should be asking this question, not you!” He tried to move the wet hair from his eyes. They swam over to a board that was closer to them to get a rest.

They were holding onto the board only with their arms each one of them one side of the board, the rest of their bodies still in the water. They were both tired of the unexpected swimming.

“Now, that wasn’t nice, Lou,” Harry scolded Louis. Their legs were occasionally touching in the water.

“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” Louis shrugged. “Didn’t know you would take me with you, though.” His eyes roamed Harry’s face to stop on the boy’s lips. They were red because Harry kept biting them and Louis couldn’t stop thinking about kissing Harry.

Louis looked up and saw Harry staring at his face. His expression was unreadable, but as green eyes swept over Louis' mouth, Louis knew they were both thinking the same way. They stared at each other as if it were a silent argument. Each one daring the other to make a move.

Louis couldn’t take it any longer. He propped himself higher on the board and got closer to Harry who was watching his every move with those big, green eyes. Louis stopped an inch in front of Harry’s face, breathing in the air that left his lungs, to make sure he was okay with it. Harry closing his eyes was the only confirmation Louis needed.

Louis closed the distance between them and covered Harry’s plump lips with his own, his hand resting against Harry’s cheek. Their lips were moving in perfect sync, their kiss becoming deeper and hungrier with every passing heartbeat. Louis’ heart pounded inside his chest, accompanied by a thousand butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

Harry tasted like salt and Louis hoped it was the salt from the sea and not his tears. He wouldn’t cope with Harry crying. They parted slowly, their foreheads resting against one another. Louis watched Harry open his eyes slowly, realizing the green was much darker than before, ignited with passion and lust.

Harry closed his eyes and kissed Louis softly a few more times as if to savor Louis’ taste on his tongue. Maybe he was scared that it was a dream that would end soon. It definitely felt like a dream to Louis. He forgot Harry was an amazing kisser, no matter if the kiss was delicate or hungry. His kisses were both a salvation and a torment, his mouth always warm and inviting.

They moved away from each other, finding it hard to lean over the board, Louis’ eyes never leaving Harry’s green orbs. “Lou,” Harry started slowly, voice filled with every emotion Louis found in the boy’s eyes. “We don’t have to go quick if you feel uncomfortable. I just need to know that we’re moving somewhere. I made myself clear about my feelings for you, but I need you to be sure.”

“I’m sure Harry. I have been sure since the day you walked through the doors to my office.” Louis said as he took Harry’s left hand in his left one, linking the tattoos on their wrists. The rope and the anchor. Together. Like they were meant to be.

“Okay,” Harry sighed with relief. “Please don’t leave again,” the words broke out as his eyes shone with withheld tears.

"I'll never leave you again," Louis said, kissing Harry's knuckles. "I promise." Their eyes met for the thousandth time, exchanging unspoken pleas and promises. Few tears fell from Harry’s eyes that Louis managed to wipe with his own thumb. “I would appreciate it if you would kiss me right now,” Louis said to lighten up the air between them.

Harry chuckled, leaning in and joining their lips in a sweet kiss neither of them wanted to break. The truth was, every kiss Louis had had over the years was no match for Harry's kisses. His kisses always left Louis breathless, causing his body to flush with heat. His kisses were addictive. Just like nicotine.

“I’m gonna swim over to the other board. Wait for me here, okay?” Harry said as their lips had finally parted. When Louis nodded, Harry kissed the tip of his nose, and with a big smile, he started swimming. The soft kiss made Louis’ insides melt. He scolded himself for being such a sap.

Louis got back on his SUP and sat astride, watching Harry crawl. He wondered when had Harry learned how to swim this well because when they were younger, he hadn’t liked swimming much. Louis guessed a lot had changed since then, and he was excited to learn all the changes over time.

“I have an idea,” Harry said as he paddled over. He was biting his lip, and Louis instantly knew that any idea he had come up with, would be stupid. Or dangerous. Or both. “Do you wanna go cliff jumping?” He finally said with excitement, pointing at the rocks on their left side.

“What?” Louis said incredulously as he looked over at the cliff. Like he thought, the idea was both stupid and dangerous. “You’re kidding, right?” he said as he looked back at Harry.

“Oh, come on, Lou,” Harry said with a pleading, big eyes, he knew Louis couldn’t resist. “It’ll be fun!”

Louis knew a different definition of ‘fun’. Playing football was fun. Going to a pub was fun. Hiking was fun. But looking at the cliff behind Harry’s back, Louis couldn’t imagine climbing it and jumping back to water counted as ‘fun’.

“I don’t know…” Louis said uncertainly. He wasn’t a daredevil, to be honest. He liked safety. And jumping from a cliff was not safe at all.

“Do you trust me?” Harry asked softly taking Louis' hand in his own. Their hands were made for each other. Louis' smaller hands fit in Harry’s perfectly. He looked up to see Harry’s beautiful face sporting those puppy eyes.

“Course I do,” Louis said without hesitation. It was a no brainer. He did trust Harry and he would do anything Harry asked him to. Talk about being whipped. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Harry made a small victory dance that made Louis whack him on the back of his head. They laughed and paddled over to the cliff. Next thing Louis knew, they were both standing on the ledge looking down at the still water below them.

“I know I signed up for this, but…” Louis stammered as he pointed a finger at Harry, “if I die, it will be your fault and I’ll never forgive you.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen. Neither of us will die. It’s not even that high,” Harry shook his head and took Louis' hand in his bigger one. “We’re gonna do this together on three, okay?” He asked and without waiting for Louis' approval, he started counting up from one. As soon as ‘three’ had left Harry’s mouth, they ran to the edge and jumped.

Once in the air, Louis had closed his eyes, the adrenaline coursing through his system urged him to flex his muscles awaiting to dive into the water. He might have squeaked at some point, but nobody had to know about that.

Once under the water, his limbs started instinctively moving on their own accord trying to get to the surface as soon as possible. Not long after him, Harry’s head emerged a dozen inches from him, sporting an enormous, stupid smile.

“That was so stupid,” Louis said trying to calm his breathing and swimming over to the boards. He didn’t have to look back to know Harry had followed him.

“But also, kinda cool, right?” Harry said getting back on his boards and gripping the paddle in his left hand.

“No. Just stupid.” It was cool. But Louis would never admit that. Harry didn’t need any more encouragement to make Louis do things like that. They paddled towards the shore and got off from the boards, taking them in one hand and the paddle in the other.

Louis followed after Harry through the beach towards the blanket, sand sticking to their wet legs. Louis was walking a few steps behind Harry on purpose. From his spot, he could watch Harry’s muscles on his arms flexing under the weight of the board.

Louis had always had a soft spot for Harry’s legs, and they had changed a lot since that time. They are still long with knobbly knees, but this time instead of thin, they were muscly. They seemed more of an athlete which was kinda true since Harry was working out and jogging a lot. The fact that Harry was wearing really short swimming trunks didn’t help. His shorts were tight and were hugging Harry’s ass, highlighting his assets.

At one point, Harry turned around and caught Louis checking him out. Immediately a smirk appeared on his face. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Harry said ironically, looking extremely smug.

“Maybe I will,” Louis winked at Harry and approached the blanket, lying down to dry on the sun. It wouldn’t take long, considering it was still hot. He laid flat on his belly, put his head on his arms, and closed his eyes. He could lie there all day if it was up to him, the rays tickling his body with heat.

Not long after, Louis felt a huge weight pressing him into the ground. He couldn’t take a breath at first and then he started wiggling to throw Harry off his back. “Get off me, you oaf!” he mumbled, and he finally managed to get out. He laid on his back, trying to take deep breaths. He looked at Harry who was lying next to him with a stupid smile. “That was not funny,” Louis scolded.

“Louu,” Harry whined and pocked Louis’ belly to lighten him up. Louis sent him a thunderous look. Harry chuckled and cupped Louis' cheek, hovered over the boy’s face, and stared deep into his eyes, looking for permission to kiss Louis.

Instead of giving permission, Louis crashed their lips together into a kiss that tasted like a sea they had just left. Harry shifted his weight on his forearms, not to crush Louis for the second time. The kiss was interrupted by the notification sound coming somewhere from Harry’s bag.

They parted reluctantly and Harry reached moved away to reach for his phone. As he unlocked his phone, Louis' stomach rumbled, and Harry looked back at him with a smile.

“It’s from Niall,” Harry said as he checked his messages. “He says, he met some lads who invited him for a night out, and said we could join him if we wanted, but other than that, he would be late and not to worry about him.”

“I’m not really in the mood for a party,” Louis said lazily covering his eyes with his arm.

“Me neither,” Harry agreed. “But we could grab a bit to eat. We have eaten everything I prepared for today. I’ll just text Niall we won’t be joining him and we can get going.” Harry started writing a reply, his tongue licking his bottom lip.

Louis closed his eyes with a grunt. Today was the first time he kissed Harry since they had broken up and that’s the only thing he could think about. Kissing Harry was extremely addictive and the more he got, the more he wanted.

Fifteen minutes later they packed up and left the beach, saying goodbye to the boy who let them through the gate leading to the beach. Louis had already forgotten his name. He had always been bad with remembering names. Soon after, they were in the car, heading to the restaurant Harry had ordered a takeaway food.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know I haven't been here for a while, but classes at uni started so I had no time to write that.   
> Anyway, here's the last chapter (For now at least. I might come back and write an epilogue, we'll see)  
> Enjoy the new chapter!

Harry's pov

Throughout the ride back, Harry couldn't stop smiling, glancing at the passenger’s seat on his right every now and then. He couldn't help but feel that what had happened on the beach just an hour earlier had been a dream. He kept glancing right just to make sure Lou was still sitting there, holding Harry’s hand in his smaller one on his lap.

Every time Louis caught Harry’s eyes, he would roll his eyes playfully and squeeze Harry’s hand with affection. Harry felt like a teenager, getting back from his first date. And even though it hadn’t been his first date with Louis, he felt the same way. His heart was hammering inside his chest, his mind kept replaying their kiss over and over again. He could still taste Louis on his lips and feel his small hands tangled in Harry’s hair.

After around a twenty-minute drive, Harry parked in front of the small eatery and reluctantly got out of the car after pecking Louis on the lips. He loved the privilege to kiss Louis any time he wanted to.

Harry entered the local and headed towards the counter to collect the order and pay for it. Even though there were few fans running at high speed, the room was still stuffy. Apart from the staff and Harry, there was no one else inside.

Walking out of the eatery, Harry heard loud music coming from the car's speakers. He saw Louis leaning over his phone and nodding his head to the music. Harry had wondered how long it would take him to take over the car’s speakers. Louis had always hated the music they played on the radio. He preferred listening to indie or alternative music, and there was no radio station that would play songs like that.

Harry smiled inwardly as he approached the car. He had already recognized the Arctic Monkeys songs blasting through the speakers. He opened the driver’s door which caught Louis’ attention as he looked up and smiled at Harry. “Can we go already? I’m starving,” Louis groaned placing his hand on his belly.

“Yeah,” Harry hummed. He fastened his seat belt and backed the car from the car park. He was hungry too and the smell of the food didn’t help. At least they were not far away from their home.

They spent ten minutes in the car singing three Red Hot Chilli Peppers songs, dancing in a weird way, and laughing at their antics.

When they finally reached the house, the sun was already nearing to hide behind the horizon, illuminating the sky with pinks, reds, and oranges. The sunsets were one of the many reasons Harry fell in love with Jamaica. He loved the people, the atmosphere, the food, and the views. And he was glad that he could admire the view with Louis right then.

“Shall we eat in the backyard? The view is quite nice,” Harry asked, opening the front doors, and letting Louis through. After he entered himself, he closed the doors and placed the car keys on the console table. Before they left for the garden, Harry gave Louis bags with food and went to the kitchen to get cutlery. On second thought, he took a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Leaving the kitchen, Harry realized, Louis had already retreated to the garden. He had found Louis sitting on one of the daybeds they had occupied the day before.

“Which one is mine?” Louis asked as Harry got closer. He held up two identically looking boxes. The only thing that differed the boxes were scribbles on the top of each one. The first one had ‘AC’ written in a blue pen and the other one had ‘BSC’.

“Yours is the ‘BSC’ one,” Harry pointed with a bottle in his hand at the box on his right. “It’s brown stew chicken. It should be up to your standards,” Harry said mockingly. Louis was extremely picky when it came to food. He wouldn’t eat anything that was supposedly healthy and, god-forbid, trendy.

“It better be,” Louis voiced and placed Harry’s box on the bed next to him. He reached for the fork and opened the box in the accompaniment of his rumbling belly. The sighs that kept escaping his mouth betrayed his content.

Harry filled two glasses with red wine and settled next to Louis, opening his own box. Even though the bed was quite big, they sat next to each other, their thighs touching, craving the touch.

“What have you ordered?” Harry looked up from his food to find Louis studying Harry’s box with disdain, the frown visible between his eyes.

“Ackee and Codfish. Wanna try?” Harry asked as he moved the box closer to Lou.

“Fuck no,” Louis stated, taking another bite of his own food. “It looks really bad.”

“Oh, come on, Harry whined. “It’s not that bad. Give it a try!” He encouraged Louis, but the latter was adamant. “Your loss,” Harry shrugged and moved the box away from Louis. It might not look good, but it was delicious and that was the only thing that mattered to Harry.

Few bites later, Louis put his empty box on the side table and looked expectantly at Harry. “Have you finished?” he asked and pointed at Harry's unfinished codfish.

“No, I haven’t,” Harry answered, faintly getting the hint.

“I think you have,” Louis stated bluntly. In one swift movement, he straddled Harry’s lap and removed the box and fork from his hands to put the beside them. As Louis cupped Harry’s cheek gently with a small, teasing smile upon his face, goosebumps lined Harry’s skin.

Harry placed his palms on Louis’ thighs, not breaking the intense gaze, they both knew was the promise of something more. Much more.

The passion in Louis’ blue eyes made the rest of Harry’s world a meaningless blur that he exiled into the far crevices of his mind. Unable to contain himself anymore, Harry connected their lips in a full-on, open-mouthed kiss that made Louis whimper. Harry loved the way Louis’ smaller body melted into his, their bodies fitting like two puzzle pieces.

Their tongues fought for dominance, neither of them wanting to relent. It was when Louis started pulling Harry’s hair at the nape of his neck, that Harry let out a groan, letting Louis win. He moved his hands to cup Louis bum pulling him closer until there was no space left between them. Harry could feel the beating of Louis’ heart against his chest.

When they broke apart, Louis rested his forehead against Harry’s with his eyes closed, as if he needed a minute to let the kiss sink in. Louis opened his eyes revealing his dilated pupils surrounded by the darkest shade of blue Harry had yet to see.

“Wanna go upstairs?” Louis asked licking his lower lip and stealing a glance at Harry’s lips. Harry presumed his own lips were swollen and red like they had always been after a make-out session.

“Are you sure?” Harry asked taking Louis’ hand into his bigger one and placing a kiss on the man’s knuckles. He didn’t want to rush their relationship. It was a relationship but just to be sure, he would have to bring that up, later on, to make it official.

“I’m not having sex outdoors,” Louis snorted moving away from Harry's laps. “We are too old for that, Harrold.”

“Excuse me, but unlike you, I’m not old,” Harry scolded, crossing his arms, and pouted at Louis.

“Oi! Cut the crap, Styles.” Louis mimicked Harry’s facial expression. “You coming or not?” Louis held out his hand to help Harry stand up.

“Impatience Is your middle name, innit?” Harry snickered as he let Louis help him up.

“What can I say,” Louis shrugged and continued, “Virtue was already taken,” He turned around and began dragging Harry towards the house.

Even though it had set off an alarm bell that they should take it slower, Harry wouldn’t try to deny that he hadn’t thought of having sex with Louis. And at that moment when Louis seemed to be sure, who was Harry to turn him down?

Harry would do anything Louis asked him to do at this point. People could laugh that he was whipped, but he had been whipped since he was sixteen and he didn’t care what other people thought. The only thing that mattered to him is that he got a second chance with Louis and this time, he wouldn’t let the boy get away that easily.

&&

Louis led Harry to the room Louis had been occupying for time being. Once Harry had closed the door behind them, Louis slammed Harry’s body against the doors, and trapped Harry between the wooden surface and his body. Louis pulled Harry’s head lower and connected their lips in a passionate kiss.

They started grinding against each other, and when it wasn’t enough, Harry placed his palms on Louis’ thighs and picked him up with ease. Louis' instant reaction was to wrap his legs around Harry and wrapping his hands around Harry’s neck.

Harry took a few steps towards the bed and placed Louis on the soft sheets, climbing over him and settling between his legs. Harry leaned on his left forearm, placing his right hand on the side of Louis' neck. He sealed their lips together, feeling like an addict at that point. Because surely, he was addicted to kissing Louis.

They were both aroused, the bulges trapped between their clothed bodies. And it was too hot to wear so many clothes. Louis must have thought the same thing as he started tugging on Harry's shirt and pulling it up.

When Louis pulled the shirt over Harry’s armpits, he started pinching Harry gently so he would take it off completely. Harry parted their lips and in one swift movement, he pulled his shirt off, throwing it somewhere to the left.

The next thing he did was to pull Louis’ shirt over his head and throw it on the ground. Wasting no time, Harry bent down and started by kissing Louis' lips, then moving to his neck, where he found the spot of Louis’ pulse. Harry knew it was a spot that got Louis worked up the most, so he started sucking on it and then biting it gently, working his teeth and tongue and lips. He was sure, there would be a huge bruise tomorrow.

At that point, Louis’ breath stutters, moans leaving his parted lips. Louis tangled his hands in Harry’s hair tugging on it gently. With a growl, Harry reached for the boy’s hands and placed them above Louis’ head, holding them tight with one hand.

Louis squirmed under Harry, trying to free his hands from under a firm grip, but as Harry attached his mouthed back to the already bruising spot, Louis gave up the fight, letting out a deep moan and arching his back.

It was when Louis started grinding against Harry, looking for much-needed friction, Harry moved back and looked down at the boy. Louis' disheveled hair was all over his face, damp with sweat glistening on Louis’ skin. His eyes were closed, lashes gently resting on his rosy cheeks. His lips were parted, trying to catch a much-needed breath.

Louis’ eyes fluttered open staring deep into Harry’s eyes. “Harry, please,” he urged, lifting his hips to let Harry know what he wanted.

Harry leaned down and placed and gentle kiss on Louis’ lips and muttered, “Be patient, baby. We’ll get there.” He smirked, earning him a growl from Louis, and bend down to kiss Louis' nose.

Harry had no idea where the self-control came from. He had Louis squirming under him, yet he took his time savoring it. Not rushing it. He didn’t want to just have sex. He wanted to caress Louis’ body, discovering all his curves and changes.

Harry attached his lips to Louis’ collarbones that were Harry’s aphrodisiac. Harry kept nibbling at Louis' milky skin, leaving soft kisses all over it. He moved downwards, placing his mouth over Louis’ right nipple. Louis shouted at the connection. Digging his head more into the pillow and tightening his eyes.

Harry licked it and bit it gently the moved to the other nipple, giving it as much attention. At that point, Louis kept moaning Harry’s name heavily and squirming underneath him. Harry loved that he still had that kind of power over Louis.

Harry kissed the path to Louis’ navel, dipping his tongue inside. He had to grip Louis' hands harder so that the boy would stay relatively still. His lips traced the path of Louis’ hair down his navel reaching the hem of his trousers.

Harry let his tongue slide underneath Louis’ clothes, making Louis lift up his hips with a low groan. Harry placed his other hand on Louis’ hip bone, pinning it to the bed. He teased Louis for a while, flicking his tongue over Louis' hot skin.

Taking pity on Louis, Harry licked over the bulge covered by swimming trunks.

“Oh my fucking god!” Louis exclaimed, finally getting Harry’s attention where he needed it the most. “Please, don’t stop,” he begged.

Harry nuzzled his cheek against Louis’ bulge, feeling his cock twitch below the fabric. He stopped the movement to Louis’ dismay and shifted his head above Louis', to seal their lips once again in a passionate kiss. 

Harry relaxed the grip, letting Louis free his hands. Louis immediately placed his hands on Harry’s back, drawing him even closer. Harry shifted his weight to his left forearm, trying not to crush Louis. With his right hand, he started tugging the shorts down to Louis’ knees.

It wasn’t an easy task to take them off with one hand, but with Louis’ help, they managed to accomplish it. Harry wrapped his hand around Louis’ erect cock, not breaking the kiss. He swallowed Louis’ moans and started working his hand down Louis’ shaft.

He could tell Louis was extremely close when he felt a precum on his fingertips. He smeared the precum down Louis’ cock. Louis whined and thrust into Harry’s hand. Louis dug fingernails into Harry’s back, making the boy hiss in pain and separate their lips.

“I’m so close, H,” Louis moaned and turned his head away, revealing his smooth neck. Harry picked up the pace, sucking in Louis' earlobe. When he felt Louis cock twitch, he moved away from Louis’ earlobe to watch Louis fall apart. It was the most erotic sight ever, and Harry’s erection was getting too painful to handle. But Harry would wait. He wanted to give Louis everything because he deserved everything.

Louis’ stomach and Harry’s hand was covered in the boy’s come. Harry laid down on his side next to Louis, placing his hand gently on the boy’s chest that kept rising with every ragged breath. He didn’t mind lying there, admiring Louis. Adoring every second of their time spent together.

“Bloody hell,” Louis uttered, his accent thicker than usual. He turned his head to look at Harry. They locked their eyes, blue meeting green for the thousandth time that day. But this time it was more intimate. “Just give me a moment.”

“No wonder you didn’t want to have sex outside, grandpa,” Harry chuckled squeezing Louis' side.

“Oi!” Louis hit Harry’s chest with the back of his hand. “Give me a break!” Harry caught Louis' hand and pulled the boy closer, so he could reach his lips easily.

At first, the kiss was delicate and sweet, sending tingles down their bodies. Their tongues were moving together in perfect harmony. Louis' lips were warm and inviting, fitting perfectly against Harry’s.

The next moment, Louis had leaned back, and with one gentle push to Harry’s arm, he got Harry to lay down on his back. Louis moved over and straddled Harry’s hips. Harry went to sit up, but Louis pushed him back down, “I think it’s time to repay the favor, big boy,” he said with a cheeky smile and rocked his hips against Harry’s bulge.

Harry hissed and placed his hands on Louis' hip, trying to guide him on how to do it properly.

“Tsk, tsk,” Louis scolded Harry shaking his head. He disconnected Harry’s hands from his hips. “No touching, baby.” Harry growled with frustration but obeyed, tangling his hands into the sheets. He kept his eyes on Louis, shuddering with anticipation.

At that point, Harry was really hard, and Louis sitting on his crotch was not helping. He needed more than that. Much more. But he was sure they would get there eventually. He had to be patient for a little while longer.

Louis leaned over Harry, placing his small hands on the boy’s chest for support. He with kisses along Harry’s jaw ending at the ear he then moved to. He took Harry’s earlobe and started sucking on it gently.

“Oh god!” Harry breathed and bit down on his lower lip. He might have felt a metallic taste of blood at one point, but he did not care one bit. The tingles running through his body combined with Louis rocking slowly on Harry’s hips were too much to handle. He gripped the sheets tighter not to try and touch Louis’ body.

Louis was a minx, and he knew perfectly well what he was doing to Harry. Teasing Harry with his tongue and his hands and his body on top of Harry’s. It was driving Harry mad.

Louis kissed down Harry’s neck, past his collarbones stopping at one of the nipples and licking it and tracing it gently with his teeth. Louis played with the other nipple with his hand, making Harry whimper in anticipation.

Harry’s breath became deep and rugged, and he couldn’t help moving his hips to get more friction. He dug his heels into mattes and kept thrusting his hips forward, matching Louis' pace. Louis groaned, not taking his mouth off Harry’s nipples sending sparks down Harry’s chest towards his member.

“Lou,” Harry growled, “gonna come in my pants if you keep it up.”

Louis pulled away from Harry’s nipple with a pop sound and smiled smugly at Harry. Harry knew it was his payback for teasing Louis beforehand. That smug bastard. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?” Louis asked, attaching his mouth to Harry’s.

Louis reached out and with both hands, he started tugging on Harry’s shorts to pull them down. Harry lifted his hips slightly to help him. When both of them were finally completely naked, Louis aligned his cock against Harry's, and wrapped his small hand against both of them.

They both panted at the sensation. Harry couldn’t remember when was the last time sex felt so good. Probably never. Not since Louis, at least. He wrapped his hand around Louis' smaller one, squeezing them gently, his other hand landing on Louis’ hip.

Their lips met in a bruising kiss, teeth clashing against each other. Soon enough Harry’s cock let out a precum, and with a sigh, Harry pulled his lips away and muttered, “Gonna come.”

“Please, don’t. I want you inside me.” Louis said, unwrapping both their hands from around their shafts.

Harry looked up at Louis and asked panting, “You sure?” It’s not like Harry didn’t want that. Because he did. Very much. But there was still a thought in the back of his head that it might be too soon.

“I’m sure,” Louis answered, and sealed their lips in a kiss. Harry didn’t need to be told twice. He placed his hands on Louis’ bottom and gratefully flipping them over so that he was on the top of Louis.

“You’re irresistible, ya know?” Harry muttered and kissed down Louis’ throat, nuzzling his nose into the boy’s stubble. “Do you have stuff?” he asked as he looked down at Louis, sitting back on his heels.

“In the drawer,” Louis pointed at the bedside table.

“Were you expecting something when you were packing in London?” Harry asked with a smirk as he reached over to grab lube and a condom.

“I was hoping,” Louis answered with a cheeky smile on his face.

Harry placed the stuff next to Louis and leaned down to wipe the smile of the boy’s face with a kiss. Louis kissed Harry back and wrapped his hands around Harry’s neck, caressing Harry’s cheeks with his thumbs.

Harry leaned back and reached for a pillow. He nudged Louis to lift his hips and he placed the pillow underneath them. He then reached for the lube and squeezed some on his fingers.

“Harry,” Louis said placing one hand on the boy's forearm, “take it slow, okay? It’s been a long time.”

This statement surprised Harry. Louis was with Chad not so long ago. Surely it couldn’t be that long. “How come?” He asked curiously. “You were with Chad.”

“Not like that,” Louis shook his head. “Never like that. Not with anyone since you.” He said earnestly. “I wouldn’t let anyone there.” He averted his gaze, refusing to be completely vulnerable.

That meant… Harry was his only one. A warm feeling spread through Harry’s body, feeling a little bit dizzy. He cupped Louis’ cheek with the other hand and turned it so that Harry would see it.

In the dim light of the lamp, Harry saw Louis' eyes sparkling with a feeling Harry would recognize anytime. Louis would like at him like that when they used to be together so many years ago, and then those eyes would haunt him in his dreams when they were over.

It was love. His eyes were filled with love.

Harry captured Louis' lips in a luscious kiss, placing his other hand on Louis’ butt. When he felt Louis whimper underneath him, he traced one finger over the boy’s butthole. Louis gasped, arching his back in anticipation.

Harry circled Loui’s hole before he pushed one finger in. “You’re so tight, Lou,” he breathed, letting Louis get used to the sensation. When he felt Louis relaxing, he slowly started moving his finger in and out, looking intently at Louis’ reaction.

Louis was always extremely responsive, letting his guard down for just this occasion. Harry could see every emotion written on his face. He wrapped his hand around Louis’ shaft and started stroking him to the rhythm of his finger.

“Please, Harry,” Louis uttered incoherently.

“What you want, baby?” Harry asked, knowing exactly what Louis needed. But still, he had to ask. He wanted Louis to tell him what he wanted.

“More,” He groaned and bit his lip down, trying to stop the moans coming out of his mouth.

“Don’t,” Harry said, as he freed Louis’ bottom lip with his finger. He then slowly pushed a second finger in making Louis’ gasp and tighten around Harry’s fingers. When he finally loosened a little bit, Harry started curling his fingers, looking for the right spot at the same time. He knew he had found a spot as Louis’ back arched off the bed followed by a scream.

“I’m ready,” Louis growled, and Harry reached for the condom and rolled it down his shaft. He squeezed lube onto his hand and spread it on his cock. He lined up against Louis and pressed against his entrance, making Louis whimper in anticipation. He leans over, elbows on either side of Louis’ chest. He presses soft kisses along Louis’ jaw. “Come on, Harry,” Louis urged.

Harry reaches down between them and drags the head of his cock over the slick hole. Louis shivered and pushed against him slightly. Harry places his hand on Louis' hip and begins to press into him. Louis' breath hitched and he squeezed his eyes when Harry was almost halfway in.

Harry stopped and started kissing Louis and working up and down his shaft to let him relax. When Louis loosened up significantly, Harry pressed all the way in, filling Louis completely. Louis was so tight around him and Harry didn’t know how much he would last buried inside Louis. He stilled, giving Louis time to adjust.

  
“Please, move,” Louis whispered, wrapping his legs around Harry for a better angle.

Harry pulled back slowly, and then trust back in carefully. His pace was slow, almost too slow for both of them, but he didn’t want to hurt Louis.

Finally, when he saw the hints of pleasure on Louis’ face, Harry sped up his thrusts. Louis Lifted his hips, pushing against Harry. They move together, Louis rocking his hips meeting each thrust with a groan.

Louis' skin was flushed, sheened with sweat, his hair sticking to his forehead. His eyes were half-closed, fighting with himself to keep their gazes locked. Harry changed his angle slightly so that he touched Louis’ prostate with every thrust.

Harry felt Louis’ muscles tighten around him, and he instantly knew, Louis was close to his release. He wrapped his hand around Louis’ cock, and with a “come for me, baby,” he squeezed him tight. At that moment Louis orgasm rippled through him, and he came, covering his belly with cum.

Harry thrust in few more times, finally reaching his own climax. He came deep inside the condom with a low groan and Louis' name leaving his lips. He collapsed on Louis' chest, trying to catch his breath. Both him and Louis were limp, laying still, one on top of the other.

When Harry could finally gather some energy, he slipped out of Louis’ hole and laid next to the boy, so he wouldn’t crush him anymore. He rolled the condom off his penis, tied it, and thrown it away in the direction of the bin.

Harry looked at Louis, who was already looking at him, with a tired smile and big, blurry eyes. They kissed, slow and easy, their arms wrapped around one another. When they finally separated, Harry caressed Louis’ cheek and decided to voice his thoughts from earlier.

“I love you, you know?” Harry said gently. “I have loved you since I was sixteen, and even the time we spent apart couldn’t make me stop loving you.”

Harry was sure he could see tears forming in Louis' eyes. “I love you too,” Louis admitted. “I have loved you since you were sixteen and I was eighteen, and I’m so sorry, that we have to go through all of this because of me.”

“No don’t,” Harry said, wiping Louis tears as they started falling down. “It’s not your fault, baby. We weren’t good for each other and we definitely needed some time apart. Maybe not as much time as it took us to find each other again, but we’re here now, so it’s all good, right?”

“Yeah,” Louis said not entirely convinced.

“So,” Harry started, taking Louis’ hand in his, and kissing his knuckles. “Can I officially call you my boyfriend?” He sent Louis a charming smile showing both his dimples.

“Yes, you weirdo,” Louis chuckled and kissed Harry. “C’mon, let’s take a shower.” He said and looked down at his stomach. “I don’t really want to sleep like this.”

They climbed out of bed and took a quick shower together, too tired for any funny business. As they returned, they both put on underpants, turned the light off, and snuggled in bed.

“Goodnight, boyfriend,” Harry said with a chuckle and he kissed the top of Louis' nose.

Louis scrunched his nose adorably curling against Harry’s side. “Goodnight, baby,” he breathed with already closed eyes. Harry threw his arm around Louis' waist and nuzzled his nose into his boyfriend’s wet hair. His boyfriend. He liked the sound of that. With that thought, he closed his eyes, letting the darkness take over him.


End file.
